After the War
by KitsuneJester
Summary: Technically...defeating Aizen was supposed to be a happy ending. Well, it is...but some people or...Hollow...can get bored. IchiHichi. Summary bad…story good…I hope. UPPED RATING! FOR GOOD REASON!
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** After the War

**Rating:** T (Rated to be safe…I think…)

**Summary:** Technically...defeating Aizen was supposed to be a happy ending. Well, it is...but some people (or Hollow) can get bored. IchiHichi. Mild language. I may take the rating up...if later chapters get there...summary bad…story good…I hope.

**Disclaimer:** I…don't….own…cries

**AN:** I suck at titles…and summaries…but hopefully people like the story enough not to kill me. ...(Starts working on a LARGE defense fortress)... As I said…hopefully…FIRST TIME!!

**ENJOY!**

* * *

It was after the war. Aizen was dead; Shinigami won, blah, blah, blah… Everyone was happy. Soul Society was re-building, humans were getting back to their normal lives, and everyone was moving on.

Who cares?!

Hichigo was bored! No war meant no fighting. No fighting meant that he wasn't needed. Being not needed…well fuck that's just not his style. He gave up threatening his King, in hopes of him coming to entertain him, back at the point where he couldn't think of anything else to threaten…

And Hichigo without something to threaten or maim… just isn't right. He was bored to the point of tears! Not that he'd cry… unless his King would maybe get his ass in here with a few tears.

NO! No, no, no, no, NO! BAD SHIROSAKI! Hollow do NOT cry!!

…Shows how pathetically bored he is…huh?

At the moment he was staring at the messed up sky and the messed up clouds of his King's inner world. Laying on the messed up, sideways skyscrapers and pretty much thinking about how messed up everything really is.

Doing a good job of it, huh?

He could feel his King smile, probably at one of the messed up jokes that one of his messed up friends made. It's been so fucking boring in the King's inner world. Not even the occasional rain that he could yell at his King for. His King probably forgot him.

And that was _really_ messed up.

I mean, come on. If the only one, who knows you exist, forgot about you, you'd be mad too, right? Yeah, I thought so.

Hichigo has been being good, even if it was against his will. His King should at least give him a mental pat on the back or something. Seriously, he's going to die of boredom if his King doesn't get his ass in here and AKNOLEGE him!!

Wait… his King wanted him dead…

Well fuck…

He really is going to die…heh…heh heh….heh heh heh….

Well that changed everything. Is he really just going to sit here and wait until he dies? Fuck that. The only thing worse then being the obedient little Horse his King wants him to be, is sitting here dying over it. NO FUCKING WAY!!

So…that's how he made up his mind. Tonight, when his King is alone, he'll make his opinion known. Forcefully or not.

**(AN:**** Hehehe, Shiro is either COMPLETELY insane, or has the mind of a four year old with a naughty mouth. P)**

* * *

Tatsuki, Orihime, Renji, Rukia, Keigo and Mizuiro were all sitting with Ichigo on the roof of their school, eating lunch with the short break they had before getting back to class. Ichigo, who already finished the lunch that Yuzu packed for him, was leaning against the railings, staring up at the clouds. It's been so peaceful. He'd doubt that he's ever going to give in and fight hollow again. He forgot what it was like, not having to run into a life-or-death fight every couple of minutes.

He really enjoyed it. As soon as the war ended, it's as if everything he had to fight went along with it. No Hollow popping up, no Shinigami after his head, no friends kidnapped. Life was good. He engaged in some half-hearted conversation with his friends, too relaxed to really listen.

The bell rang, and they all went back to class. Except Renji who acted as a regular high school drop out. Not that it didn't fit him. They'd fight too much if he went to class anyway.

**(AN: Poor Renji. I have a habit of picking on him. I love him, though!)**

Class went on, and with the Hollow threat gone, Ichigo was actually getting good grades again. The teacher was left to wonder how he did it, and he was left to stare off into space while the lesson went on. At the end, everyone got up and left. Ichigo still felt it weird to not have detention, after all the times he left class, because of those damn Hollow.

Life was good.

They all walked home, parting ways somewhere down the road, until it was only Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia (who was staying at Orihime's) and Renji (who was staying at Ichigo's). Again, half-hearted conversation, until Rukia brought up an unwanted subject.

**(AN: Rukia moved because he was tired of dealing with Kon. Renji, because he was tired of being called a freeloader.)**

"Ichigo, I've been wondering something for a while."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"What exactly did you do with that Hollow inside you?" Ichigo, who had tried so desperately to forget about that nightmare point in his life, froze mid-step and his eyes widened.

"You _did_ do something about him, _right?_"

"Uh…"

"Ichigo, please don't tell me that he's still _there!_"

"Well I…..uh….he just kinda…"

"Kinda what? Ichigo just spit it out!" Renji and Rukia were glaring at him, while Orihime was looking worried behind them.

"Kinda…disappeared…I think…" _I hope _was left unsaid.

"You think…_You_ _THINK?!_" Renji grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him in the air. "What do you mean 'you think'?"

"Ichigo, are you saying it might still be there?" Ichigo, who was glaring at Renji, now looked over at Rukia.

"He shut up a couple weeks out of the war. Hasn't done anything, or said anything for that matter. I think with all the fighting gone, he didn't have much of a purpose anymore. I _think _he disappeared."

"How can you be sure?" Ichigo glared at Renji.

"Can you maybe put me down?" Renji glared back, but complied and let Ichigo go. "I can't be sure, but he's shut up, so that's what I'm thinking. If he starts up again, I'll be sure to let you know. Can I get back home now?"

"Whatever. Sorry Ichigo, but I'm not going to take my chances. I'm going to stay at Urahara's for now. I'll come back once you've figured this thing out." Ichigo smirked at Renji.

"All the more reason for me not to 'figure it out'." Renji glared and was about to comment back, before Rukia spoke up.

"We're just concerned for you, Ichigo. Can you please try and find out? We don't want to worry about this for long." Ichigo sighed.

"Alright, I'll ask Zangetsu tonight or something." _After dinner and a nap. I don't know why I'm so tired…_

"Alright, good luck then. We'll see you tomorrow, Ichigo." All three friends said their goodbyes and went their own way.

And somewhere in the back of Ichigo's mind, Hichigo was laughing, slowly lulling his King to sleep.

* * *

Ichigo yawned. Dinner was over, earlier then expected, which he was glad for. He could barely keep himself awake. He lay down on his bed, not even bothering with homework, and quickly fell asleep. But not before feeling a sickening feeling in his stomach, and a slightly light-headed.

* * *

His King opened his eyes, rubbing his head and disbelievingly taking in his surroundings. Hichigo almost laughed at the sight, before mentally smacking himself. He was here to convince King that he'd do anything to get out, or at least get some recognition once in a while, not to scare him to death.

With that in mind, he took a deep breath. This was going to be hard.

"Hey King." Short, sweet and simple, right? Apparently his King didn't think so. He jumped a hundred and ten feet back. (Or, he would have, if he didn't bump into a wall a couple feet back.)

"What the _HELL?!" _

_Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh._

"That's not nice, King. Ya can at least say hi back."

_Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh._

His King flinched. Hichigo realized why, and held up his hands, to show that Zangetsu wasn't with him.

"I didn't call ya ta fight, my King. Jus' ta talk. Will ya listen?" Ichigo immediately took the defensive, out of habit.

"Why should I?" Hichigo almost scowled. Almost.

"'Tis a good question. But this loyal servant got somethin' important ta say. So how 'bout, you repay me fer bein' good all this time, and jus' listen ta me?" His King looked thoughtful, before tensing again.

"Why exactly _were_ you…uh…'being good'? Last time I checked, you never listened to a word I said."This time, he couldn't help but scowl.

"Well, ya haven't checked on me in a while, now have ya? And this gets us to the topic of my conversation."

"Wait a minute! Who said I was going to listen?!" Hichigo smirked.

"Ya haven't left yet." Ichigo's eyes widened, before sighing.

"Fine, just make it quick." Hichigo's smirk grew.

"Of course, my King." He took a deep breath, and just decided to get to the point. "I'm bored."

"You dragged me in here just to say-"

"Hey, hey!! Ya said you'd listen!" His King scowled, before sitting down, abruptly. "As I was sayin', I'm bored, because ya left me alone here ta rot. Even if there's no battlin' left ta do, doesn't mean I'm just gonna sit here an' die. 'Tis not my style. Ya don't even come in 'ere once in a while ta talk ta little ol' me.

"An' I know ya would rather me be dead, I just can't sit here an' die. Ya brought me inta this world and I'd rather like ta stay." He looked his King in the eyes, not finished, but wanting to hear his opinion.

After a couple minutes, Ichigo finally decided to speak.

"So…what you're saying…is that you're…._lonely?_" Hichigo scowled, and then sighed.

"It makes me sound pathetic when ya say it like that, King." His King apparently chose to ignore that.

"And you're willing to keep your ass here and not mess with my life, as long as I come and talk to you sometimes?"Hichigo scowled again.

"Again, you're makin' me sound pathetic. Ya make it sound like ya don't care for me even a bit." Ichigo looked him in the eyes, and Hichigo was shocked. (Being over dramatic about it, but at least shocked a little.)

"Ya mean that hero complex a yers doesn't even get ta me? Not even the new, non-interfearin' me? I'm hurt, King." Hichigo grabbed his heart (if he has one, he never checked) and pretended to wince in pain. Ichigo just scoffed.

"Great. What the hell am I going to tell Rukia and them now?"

"Lie?" His King growled (yes _growled_) at him.

"I. Do. Not. Lie!" Hichigo held up his hands.

"Alright, alright. Don't get hostile on me King. I wasn't accusin' ya a anythin'." King sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get used to you sometime." The Hollow smiled. ACTUALLY smiled!

"Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Yeah, I'll come talk to you."

"YES!!" He jumped his King. Though, people watching would call it _glomping_. "THANK YOU!!"

"WHAT THE _HELL?! _GET OFF ME!!" Hichigo's eyes widened. He looked down at his struggling King, as if trying to get his surroundings straight. Which, he was. He was, literally, lost in the moment.

"Shit. Sorry, King." He quickly got off, and sat a couple feet away. Not trusting himself to stand at the moment.

"The fuck was that about?!" The Hollow rubbed the back of his head, both in embarrassment, and an attempt at thinking what just happened.

"Uh…I was happy? I think…Emotions are still new ta me, King."

"Um…alright then…just…don't do that again. I think my heart couldn't take it."

"Aw. Fallin' fer me, King?" Ichigo almost choked.

"NO! Fuck! One heart attack at a time, please!!" Hichigo laughed. It was new to him, to laugh this warmly. Without it being to make fun of his King. It felt, good…

When he looked back at his King, he saw that he was staring at him. What was that look in his eyes? Humor? Content?

"What? Why ya lookin' at me like that?" He saw his King blush at look down, embarrassed.

"Well…I…never heard you laugh like that. It's much better then that maniac cackle or whatever it is that you do." The hollow found himself smiling. Before shaking it off.

_What the hell's this feelin'? Am I the one fallin' fer King? No way in the world!! Never!! Jus' need someone ta talk ta is all. Glad fer it is all. Yeah, that's it._

He wasn't being very convincing.

* * *

AN: Hopefully I'll get more chapters up…but I got other stuff too…Might be a weekly thing…or less…hopefully…

ARIGOTO! Read and Review if ya want...but I don't review much so it might be payback for me if you dont. ...sigh...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ichigo woke up with a yawn and stretched.

**(AN: Italics in between '…' are thoughts sent to each other mentally. Not out loud.)**

'_That's the best sleep I've had in a while.' _He heard Hichigo laugh.

'_That's 'cause ya were here. Yer body gets more rest when yer receded inta yer own head.'_

'_Hmm…maybe talking to you at night is going to turn out to be a good thing. At least for my physical health. Don't know about my mental health just yet. _The Hollow only laughed some more.

'_And remember what I said? No talking when I'm with someone else. I can't risk having to explain why I'm spacing out.'_

'_Yeah, yeah I get it. By the way, yer sis is comin' up.' _As if on cue, Yuzu opened the door.

"Hey, Ichi-nii. Just checking if you were awake. Did you sleep well?" Ichigo smiled at her.

"Actually, I slept really well." She smiled back at her brother.

"That's good. I'm glad you're in a good mood. Oh, and your friends are waiting for you. Should I let them in?" Ichigo groaned…mentally of course.

"Which friends?"

"Rukia-chan and…uh…the red-headed one that was staying with us." Yuzu rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. She was really never good with names.

"Ah, Renji?" She nodded. "You can let them in, but I'm going to be changing, so make sure _both_ of them stay away from my room. Thanks Yuzu." She smiled.

"Of course! Glad to help, Ichi-nii!" She skipped off, humming to herself.

'_Aw, yer sis is sweet, Ichi-nii.'_

'_Oh, shut up. Having you call me Ichi-nii would be worse then King.' _Hichigo snickered.

'_Ichi-King.'_

'_DEFIDENTLY NOT!' _That sent the Hollow into a mad fit of laughter. Each and every bit of it ringing through Ichigo's head. _'Stop that! You're going to mess something up that way!'_

'_S-s-sorry, Ki-King! T-to….TO FUNNY!!' _Ichigo completely blocked him off as another fit of laughter overtook him. He quickly dressed and made his way into the kitchen.

"Hey Ichi-nii! Your friends are watching T.V. in the other room." He smiled and patted Yuzu's head.

"I figured they would. I'm just going to get something to eat. I'll deal with them in a minute." Karin came in then.

"You better hurry. Renji seems a bit impatient, and Rukia's getting fed up with stopping him." Ichigo sighed.

"Alright, alright." He put some bread in the toaster. "I'll go right now. Damn shinigami, need their own lives. Stop messing with mine." Yuzu laughed and Karin nodded in agreement.

**(AN: The family now knows about the whole deal, and Ichigo knows his Father was a Captain.)**

He walked into the living room, to see Renji scowling and Rukia flipping through channels. Scratch that, they were both scowling.

"Hey! Why the hell are you here so early!?"

"_Finally!"_ They said together, immediately turning toward Ichigo. Rukia took up from there.

"Did you figure it out? Huh?" _Oh god._ He re-opened the connection with Hichigo.

'_Hey, you got any ideas on what to tell them?'_

'_I said ya should lie, but no!'_ Ichigo decided to ignore that.

'_Wait…technically you're Zangetsu, right?'_

'_Yup.'_

'_Alright, I got it.'_

"Well Ichigo? How long does it take you to answer a single question?"

"Zangetsu's angry at me for leaving him alone for so long. He's not answering, but I'm sure if there was something important or life threatening, he'd tell me. There's nothing to worry about."

'_Real nice, King.'_

'_Hey, you can't just not be angry with me in one night. And just because I didn't call him, doesn't mean I still can't say he's not answering. And there's really nothing to worry about. Just because I don't lie, doesn't mean I can't bend the truth.'_

"Alright fine, we'll believe you. But if that Hollow pops up, you have to tell us, first thing, alright?" Rukia stated, with the utmost seriousness.

"Whatever."

"She means it, Kurosaki. You'd better tell us."

"Yeah Renji, I get it. Can we go now?" Ichigo went back to the Kitchen, grabbed his breakfast, said bye to his sisters and went out the door.

They made it to school with Ichigo successfully avoiding any topic that had to do with Shirosaki, and…without said hollow bugging him? Seems like he really can listen…

* * *

Class was different.

'_Hey! Hey, King! What the hell's this Math supposed ta be?! Jus' a bunch a numbers?' _Ichigo groaned.

'_No, it's supposed to help you with finding a job later, and dealing with finances, and stuff like that. Look, it's pretty hard to concentrate with you yelling in my ear.'_

'_Ya already know all this stuff anywho…so why d' ya need ta go an' listen?'_

'_How the hell would you know if I know this stuff or not?'_

''_Cause I know it, King. When I get bored, I take peeks inta yer memories. School stuff jus' happens ta be there too. I jus' happen ta skip where all this stuff is important.'_

'_YOU DON"T GO NOSING AROUND IN MY MEMORIES! THAT'S THE ULTIMATE INVASION OF PRIVACY!!'_

'_Ya just wanted an excuse not ta talk ta me.' _Ichigo was silent. _'Aw, King! No fair! That hurts!'_

'_Stop with the pity act. It won't work.' _Shinzo let out a 'hmpf!' Then fell silent as the bell rang, and Orihime automatically bounded up to him.

"Come on, Kurosaki-kun, lets hurry before everyone decides to leave us behind!" Ichigo looked around to see half of his friends not even out of their seats yet. One or two still sleeping. _Cough_Keigo_Cough._ Orihime grabbed his arm, seemingly not paying attention, and rushed out of the room, dragging him along with her.

"Wait, Inoue, where are we going? The others are still back at class!" She just smiled back at him and kept running. He sighed. He has MUCH too weird friends. She led him right out the door…and to the…fitness shed?!

"Why--?"

"Kurosaki-kun, what's going on?" He looked at her. _Shit, did she find out?_

"I don't know what you mean Inoue. Really. Can we get the others now?" She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Do you not trust me Kurosaki-kun?" He immediately raised his arms in defense.

"Of course I do! But really, everything's fine. I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've been smiling more today, and you didn't _once_ tell Keigo-kun to "back off". You've been acting a little weird, Kurosaki-kun. Like you're content…or something. I can't really explain it, but I want to know what makes Kurosaki-kun this happy!"

"Happy?" She looked at him with one of those 'duh!' looks that always makes you feel a bit stupid. "Why would I…" The realization hit him.

'_You?'_

'_Aw, King. Do I really make ya happy? I feel all warm and bubbly! Hehehe. '_

"You know now, Kurosaki-kun? I really want to know! OH! You must have found a lover!!"

"WHA--!? NO! God no! He's not my--!" _Oh shit._

'_Nice one, King.'_ Orihime had a huge, victory smile on her face.

"He? So there is someone! Tell me, please!? I won't tell anyone else!" Ichigo sighed.

"Alright, alright. Swear you won't tell?" She nodded, in turn causing Ichigo to sigh. "Alright, here's how it is."

He took his time explaining (to Hichigo's displeasure) the attitude of Hichigo before and during the war. And in extreme detail the amount (not exactly word for word, as some were…gruesome to say the least) of insults and threats thrown his way. Orihime even laughed at some parts, which just got Hichigo even more pissed. (He says that, but he was really just uncomfortable with all that being said. As his King could still change his mind.)

Then, he quickly went through the part when they got together. I went something like this:

"Then, he pulled me in one day, after a very long period of absence, and told me he was lonely. He said he'd leave me mostly alone if I went to talk to him once in a while, and I took pity on him. That was last night, which has lead us to here. You get all that?" Hichigo was, not-so-silently anymore, fuming.

'_KING! I sound so pathetic! I wanna make a GOOD impression! You're being mean!!'_

'_Who ever said I couldn't be mean one in a while? Hmm?'_ Hichigo started to (fake) cry.

"You're so nice, Kurosaki-kun! Forgiving him like that! Aww, now you got me wanting to meet him. Is he nice?" Hichigo started yelling again. Something about telling her yes. But, he wasn't going to be that nice. (Insert Chibi Ichi Devil here. Lol.)

"He's perverted, obnoxious, loud, and an all around nuisance excuse for a Hollow, but if you get past all that, there's nice in there somewhere." He mentally smirked at Hichigo, who went back to his fake crying.

"Aw, he almost sounds like a Hollow version of Kon." She started giggling. Ichigo smiled with her.

"He does, doesn't he?"

'_DON' GROUP ME IN THE SAME UNIVERSE AS THA' PLUSHIE!! PLEASE KING I'M CRYIN' HERE!! TAKE PITY ON YER SERVANT!! NEED LOVIN' HERE!!"_

'_Calm down! We were just joking…jeez. I don't think anything can be grouped in Kon's little category of the universe.'_

'_YES--!' _Ichigo cut him off before he could continue shouting, going back to Orihime.

"You said you wanted to meet him?"

"Yup! I don't know if that would be possible…but I still want to!"

"I'm not going to let him have control of my body. I don't trust him that much yet. But I'm sure I'll find a way." Ichigo shifted uncomfortable on the bag of basketballs he was sitting on. "Now, can we get out of here? Everyone's probably looking for us, and it's really cramped."

"O-of course! Sorry, this is the first place I could think of to talk safely." Ichigo opened the door.

"No it's alright, but we better hurry. Rukia, especially with Renji, doesn't have the best of patience." She laughed and followed him.

They caught up with everyone as they were leaving. A lot of stares, but no questions asked, and they all got home at about the same time. Shows how long it takes to wake Keigo up. Hichigo was still complaining, but silently.

* * *

**AN:** Yay! I got it updated the next day! I'm proud of myself! (That's probably going to be my record...by the way.) Sure, this chapter's a little shorter...but I'll try and make Ch.3 longer, to make up for it.

I know….boring….I'm just trying for a little humor before everything. I have absolutely no plan, and I'm not going to make one. I'm just writing as it comes. Not every point in Ichi's life has to be a life or death fight. Jeez…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Hey! I know you're there! You can't ignore me forever!" He heard something from behind him.

"I was under the impression ya dun want me ta talk anyway, My King." Ichigo sighed. They were back in his Inner world, after Ichigo fell asleep. Dealing with Hichigo was getting easier, but it still gave him one hell of a migraine. The Vizard (sp?) didn't know if it was the Hollow's voice gave him the headache, or just the way he put that voice to use.

"No need to get angry with me. She still wants to meet you. Orihime's all about optimism, don't you know that?" He heard Hichigo snicker from behind him. Obviously trying to keep it in. He growled.

"What the hell are you snickering about?" He finally turned to face him, and saw him hunched over in attempts to control his laughter. "Are you going to answer?!"

"Y-ya." He took a deep breathe, and stood up straight. "I jus' wanted ta see if ya would…" He started snickering again.

"JUST SPIT IT OUT!"

"If ya would go an' comfort me." At this, he burst out laughing. "Ya were all worried about poor lil' me! Aw King, I love ya, too!" He was barely standing now.

"Riiigghht…" Ichigo turned and stalked off.

"King! Where ya goin'? Dun ya wanna ask me somethin'?" He stopped walking.

"Actually, I don't feel like pitying you right now. I'll be back in the morning, if I feel like it."

"Wha-? Wait! King, I dun mean it like tha'! Come back! I'm sorry!"

Ichigo turned and smirked at him. "Oh really now? You sure about that? You were laughing pretty hard." Hichigo pouted.

"I'm sure, My King. This loyal servant dun wanna go ruining our…relationship…more then you want me ta shut up. Which, as I've learned, my dear King, is a lot." Ichigo's smirk grew.

"Alright, I'll forgive you." Hichigo smiled widely. "Alright, what I wanted to ask you is if you're really serious about being able to materialize, then will you be able to figure out how on your own, or would you need me to help?" The Hollow seemed to be deep in thought.

"Uh…I'm pretty sure I can figger it out on me own, but I'd probably need ya ta actually get me out. Which sucks, by the way." Ichigo smiled.

"Good, I wouldn't want you popping up all the time on your own." Hichigo again started to sulk as Ichigo sat down, legs spread and bent at the knee as he leaned against one of the many buildings of his Inner world, closing his eyes.

"So…when do you think you could have it figured out by?" Silence. "You still there?" More silence. Ichigo, too lazy to open his eyes at the moment, just dismissed it. What he didn't know, was that Hichigo was walking over to his King. A plan already forming in his head.

_Silly King, sittin' there all vulnerable-like. I'll show him about relaxing around me. I'm tired of him treating me harshly. I'll show him. Hehehe. _

He stood above his King, that wicked grin forming on his lips. He looked down at his King, breathing deeply, just starting to fall into a deep sleep.

_Silly, silly King. Hehehe. Silly King of mine. I love ya, my dear, silly King. _

He lowered, grin widening with his plan coming together.

_Precious, oblivious King of mine. So pretty. So pretty sitting there, almost sleeping. Silly, silly little King. Hehehe._

There was a scream. And then nothing.

* * *

The next morning…at school.

* * *

Orihime comes bounding in, her usual grin on her face.

"Hey, has anyone seen Kurosaki-kun? I went by his house, Kurosaki-san (Father) said he wasn't in his room. I thought he left early…" Tatsuki and Rukia looked up.

"He hasn't been by here actually…Maybe Renji's seen him." Rukia looked thoughtful, then the realization hit her.

_Did he have to fight with that Hollow again?! Did he loose?! The thing could've taken over his body and left! Why would it leave, though? Without killing anyone?_

"OH! Speak of the devil! There he is! Hey, Ichigo!" Tatsuki stood and smacked him over the head. "You had Orihime so worried! Where the hell have you been?!"

"Where?" He asked, rubbing his head. "I just took the long way to school. I had stuff I needed to think about. Why?" Orihime came over.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun. I'm glad you're alright."

"Why is everyone so worried? I take the long way here a lot and today was no different." Orihime just smiled, and then Ichigo sighed and went over to his desk, sitting down. Right after, Rukia came up.

"Ichigo." He looked up at her, immediately wishing that he hadn't. Her face displayed so much suspicion and suppressed anger that he almost slunk down and disappeared into the ground in fear. Almost. Not quite.

"Yeah?" He asked, surprising himself that his voice was clear.

"Why were you really late? If you did tell the truth, then what would it be that you had to think about?"

"Uh…"

* * *

_**Flashback…**_

* * *

There was a scream. And then nothing.

Until…

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Ichigo glared with as much fury as he could muster in his state at the Hollow, now _SITTING IN HIS LAP!!_ _BETWEEN HIS LEGS!! RESTING HIS GOD DAMED HEAD ON HIS SHOULDER!!_

"Mmm? Oh…Comfy… ya looked inviting…dun wanna move…" Hichigo snuggled back into a tensed Ichigo.

"Wh-what? Wait! I still don't get why you're on me in the first place!"

"I told ya…ya looked inviting…comfy…can I sleep now?" He didn't wait for his King's permission, and fell right asleep.

"W-wait!" He stopped when he noticed that the Hollow was sleeping. He groaned, and tried desperately to get out of the weird, albeit comfortable, position. But, apparently Hichigo has a lot of awareness when he sleeps, because as soon as Ichigo started moving, he grabbed his King's legs and snuggled closer, making it impossible to get out without shoving the Hollow off. Which Ichigo was too kind to do.

He groaned, yet again. There was no way he'd be able to move, so he tried relaxing as much as he could. Surprising enough, the second he thought about relaxing, his body took the initiative and completely shut down. Completely relaxed, he carefully wrapped his arms protectively around his Hollow's waist and rested his head on his shoulder, giving in to the comfortable position. Eventually following his Hollow's example and falling asleep. What he didn't know, is that Hichigo was smirking.

When he opened his eyes in the morning, he was faced with a smirking, bragging Hollow insisting that no matter how hard Ichigo tired to deny it, that he liked it. Ichigo decided to get out of the house early and take the long way to school, to "argue his Hollow dry." Hichigo finally decided to shut up when Ichigo threatened the fact that he _might_ not let him out to meet Orihime.

That was right before he walked into school. Talk about not giving up. Jeez.

* * *

_**End Flashback…**_

* * *

"Uh…you really don't want to know…trust me." And, cue the bell! _Ring._

He mentally grinned. That thing always saves him. Rukia huffed and went to sit back down. He sighed in relief when the sensei came through the door.

"Alright everyone, sit down." She stated, routinely. By now, everyone knows to take their seats before she gets here, or 30 minutes _extra_ in detention. Detention is handed out so easily around here, the only ones who really never get it are: Orihime, Rukia, Chad, Ishida, some other background kid, and to everyone's great surprise, Kurosaki Ichigo. (Sensei says it's just a matter of time, and weirdly enough, Ichigo agrees with her every time.)

School went on…blah, blah, blah. Almost everyone was asleep. (The number one reason for detentions.) Surprising enough, Hichigo kept his mouth shut.

* * *

_**Back somewhere in Ichigo's head…**_

* * *

**(AN: Yes Hichigo is talking to himself, but I'm going to put the different…uh…dialogues in different paragraphs, like if two people were speaking. Partially because one of his dialogues doesn't have his accent, and doesn't deserve to be in the paragraph with his usual awesomeness. And also because he's even speaking like there's two people. I thought it was easier to explain the deep, life changing effect on his very soul…through comedy.)**

"AHH! This is gonna drive me nuts!!" Hichigo was currently pacing back and forth, surprisingly not making a ditch yet.

"Calm down! If you stay calm and think about this, I'm sure you can figure it out. Just think. Start little, go bigger."

"Right. Think…Wait what?! NO! Dun wanna _think!_ I wanna _act!_ That's what I'm gonna do! ACT!" He yelled dramatically and punched his fist in the air. But after a couple seconds of silence, went back to pacing.

"But what if he doesn't like this…_act_… of yours? Will he throw you away? Lock you up? Don't forget, there are two things that we're thinking about."

"_SHUT UP!_ Yer making me re-think myself. It's always been act firs', ask questions second, 'n act some more. YER NOT MAKIN' IT ANY EASIER!! Damn conscience an' its damn logic. DAMN IT ALL!"

"Now, now, cussing your heart out won't help this situation one bit. You have to _sit and think._ All this walking you're doing is making me nauseous." None the less, the Hollow kept pacing.

"I can' stop movin' at a time like this! Are ya crazy!? ...Dun answer tha'."

"Alright, first things first. What's the first thing you think you're going to act on?" He stopped pacing for a second, before resuming.

"I wanna name. Not tha' _Shirosaki Hichigo_ shit tha' some a King's friends call me. I wanna get my own name. An' I wan' King ta give it ta me. Ya know he never even says the name, so he can' accept it."

"Are you going to ask him for this?"

"_Fuck no!_ No way! I jus' got me some freedom, an' I'm not chancin' it on somethin' as _stupid_ as tha'. I can live without a name, can' live without some freedom."

"But you can't die without a name."

"I can always ask later then. When King gets ta trustin' me."

"Now is as good as ever. I thought you were a man of _action?" _

"STOP USIN' MEH WORDS AGINST ME!!" He laughed.

"So, if you're not going to ask him, then what do you suggest he calls you? Is he just going to keep saying that you're '_that Hollow'._ You _hate_ that, and you know it. You're going to ask him."

"FINE! If I tell 'im, will ya get off meh back about it?!"

"For now."

"Then I will."

"Good, next up?"

"These fuckin' feelin's I keep getting'. They're crushin' me! Every time I'm 'round King, somethin' starts suffocatin' meh heart. Every time he's away, somethin' starts crushin' it! The poor thin' ain't gonna last long!"

"Do you know what these feelings are called?"

"If I knew tha' then I would a acted on it!"

"You do know."

"Ya don' know what I know 'r not!"

"You know because _I_ know, you dolt! Get it together! You know what they are; you just can't admit it, can you!? The great and terrible _Hollow_ is scared of human feelings!"

"_Ya said ya would let up about the name!! AN' WHO THE HELL EVER SAID I WAS SCARED!?"_

"You did."

"No _YA_ did!" _Smack. _"Right…"

"Are you going to admit it, or do I have to?"

"ALRIGHT! It's love. I love our dear lil' King. Happy now!?"

"Very."

"Glad one a us is." _Smack. _"Right…"

**(AN: If you didn't get it yet, his conscience smacks him ever time he tries pitting them as two people using sarsasm. I'm probably just getting in the way huh?)**

"Now that we admitted what they are, what are you going to do about them?"

"Isn' tha' what yer here fer?"

"I'm just here to tell you what to think, when to think it, and when the action can take place. You're the one that comes up with it all."

"Wha? So yer sayin' yer my parent in disguise?"

"One: You don't have parents of any kind, anywhere. Two: I'm worse then any parent anyway, get use to it. Three: this isn't going to get me of the topic. What are you going to do about your love?"

"Uh…hope it dies away?" _Smack._ "I HAVE TO STOP SMACKING MYSELF!"

"I just felt like doing that. Anyway. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!"

"Tell him," the Hollow whispered.

"Couldn't hear you."

"I'm goin' ta fuckin' tell 'im!"

"So, you're going to ask him for a name, and tell him that you love him?"

"I guess…WAIT! We jus' went in a fuckin' circle. Ya jus' told me ta act on both a the fuckin' things!"

"Hehehe."

"I'M GONNA KILL YA!!"

"Good luck."

"AUGH!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_**MY RAMBLING IS ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT!**_

**(I skip over most Authors intros too, don't worry.)**

**This chapter…the next chapter…and maybe the one after that are going to be mostly dialogue and normal people stuff…so don't expect any life changing events or major plot twists…**

**I have somewhat of a plan now (against my will) so there'll be some interesting things in this story…but you have to remember this is my first. I'm just trying to get the hang of actually writing something. NOT making the best story in the world.**

**So…the next couple chapters will be mostly plot and character development. (Trying unsuccessfully to act like I know what I'm doing.)**

**Though…I'm pretty sure that's what the whole story's been about so far…Hehehe…**

* * *

"Hey! Dammit why are you always hiding when I get here!? It's starting to get ridiculous! Hollow!"

"I…I'm right here, King," Hichigo whispered, nervously. Ichigo turned around, looked at Hichigo with wide eyes, and turned back around.

"No you're not. You're too quiet. Where is he?" Hichigo looked down at the ground.

"It's really me, King. I…got somethin' ta ask of ya. Can ya listen?" Ichigo turned back around and crossed his arms.

"I might. If you snap out of your damn mood. What's wrong with you?!" Hichigo flinched a little.

"Nothin'. I jus' need ta talk ta ya."

"Then snap out of it."

"I can'."

"Then I'm off to find the real one. 'Cause you can't be him." He turned back around and started walking off. Hichigo looked wide-eyed after him.

'_What the hell's he doin'? I asked him calmly didn' I?'_

'_Just do what he says. Snap out of it you wanna be excuse for a Hollow! Run!'_

'_I swear yer gonna die by meh hands. Somehow."_

"DAMMIT KING!" Hichigo ran and tackled him to the ground. Ichigo twisted himself trying to pry the Hollow off, but just made it so it was easier for Hichigo to pin him. They were now facing each other. Surprisingly, Ichigo was smirking.

"LISTEN TA ME!! I WANNA ASK YA A DAMN QUESTION!!" Ichigo's smirk grew.

"That's fine. I needed to ask you something anyway."

"Then why-?"

"I don't want any part of me unsure of themselves. That includes you. Got it?" Hichigo looked down at his King, disbelievingly. Then smiled.

"Alright, alright. I'm completely 100 sure that I need ta ask ya this, and I'm no' backin' down. Are ya gonna listen."

"You have my full attention. No stuttering now." Hichigo glared at his King.

"I won'. King, I want a name. And I want ya ta give it ta me."

"A…name?"

"Che. Yes! I want meh own name! Ya never took the time ta figure out tha' I don' got one!? I hate havin' ya call me '_Hollow'_ all the damn time!"

"So, all that, and that's all you wanted to ask me?"

"Wait…what?"

"Of course I'll figure you a name, you stupid hollow. You should've asked me sooner." Ichigo, playfully, hit him over the head. Hichigo just stared at his King in mild shock.

"Ya mean…ya made me go threw _complete_ mental _breakdown_ for _NOTHING?!_ Fer a "ya should a asked me sooner"?! Yer as bad as tha' other guy!"

"What other guy? Zangetsu?"

"Uh…wait…ZANGETSU!! A COURSE!! I KNEW I WAS TOO GOOD FER A CONSCIENCE!! IT WAS HIM ALL ALONG!! THANK YA SO MUCH KING!! Now I got a reason not ta listen ta the bastard!! My life is GREAT!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh…back in the last chapter I went insane an' started talkin' ta meh conscience, after arguin' with it about the fact that it was there... Ya missed it, King!"

"…"

"Why ya starin' at me like tha'?"

"…"

"Did I say somethin' weird?"

'_You really don't listen to yourself talk, do you?'_

"There he is again!!"

"Right. We keep the craziness at a minimum for the sake of my sanity, deal?"

"Uh…I guess"

'_The first logical three words out of your mouth since you got here.'_

"SHUDDAP YA STUPID OLD MAN!!"

"Excuse me?" Ichigo glared at the Hollow.

"Oh…not ya King. My conscience. Err…I mean… Zangetsu."

"Right…"

'_He doesn't believe you. Try to convince him more. Your reactions are great.'_

"He's doin' a hell a lot more teasin' now tha' he dun have that magical pole a his."

"I think it would be better if you find a corner…sit in it…and think for a little. Come out when you stop talking about non-existing voices and magical poles, alright?"

"Kiiinngg!! I'm not lyin'!! Ya got ta believe me!!"

"Corner. Now." Hichigo huffed and stood up and stalked off muttering something about conspiracies and murder. _Somehow_ he found a corner…we think…

* * *

_**Meanwhile…at Urahara's**___

"Now, now, no need to get pushy Rukia-chan. I'm sure there's a decent explanation for it." Urahara held his fan in front of his face, hiding his smile. "Come in, sit down, and relax. We can talk about it."

"We don't have time for that! For all we know, Ichigo could be in danger! You should know! I need that device, Urahara!" He sighed. _Women are so pushy now-a-days._

"Humor me, Rukia-chan. Even if we found out that he was hiding that Hollow of his, what are we supposed to do about it?"

"Well…kill it of course!"

"And if Kurosaki-kun refuses?" Rukia looked taken aback for a second, but quickly regained her composure and glared at him.

"Why would he do that?!"

"Just raising possibilities, Rukia-chan. What would you do if he refuses?"

"It's a Hollow! It has to be destroyed! Ichigo would just have to understand!"

"So, you would act forcefully toward one of your best friends? Hmm…not very nice. Now why would I give this to you if you were just going to do that?" He held a package out in front of him. "It is my product after all. I'm sure he'll come if he's dissatisfied in any way. We wouldn't want that, now would we?"

"FINE! Then, what would you have me do?! We need to get rid of this problem!"

"Come in, sit down, and relax. We'll talk about this like civilized adults. Now…

"Who wants Pancakes!?" Rukia sighed, but went in anyway.

* * *

_**Back with Hichigo and Ichi…**_

* * *

"Alright, you going to talk normally now?"

"Yup."

"No more voices or magical poles?"

"No more."

"Alright. So, while you were clearing your head, I came up with a name. Hopefully suitable."

"REALLY!?"

"Yup."

"What is it?! What is it?!"

"I'm not going to tell you yet." Hichigo deadpanned.

"What?"

"I'm not going to tell you yet."

"I heard ya the first time!! WHY!?" Ichigo smirked.

"I need something to hold over your head for Orihime's meeting. I need you to behave."

"I will behave!! I'll do more then behave!! I'll be on meh best behavior! I'll serve, I'll do anything!! COME ON KING!!"

"Sorry, but you're going to get it after the meeting. Now, on to my question. Have you figured out how to get you out yet?" Hichigo pouted and looked away. "Is that a no, or a yes?" The Hollow crossed his arms, still pouting. "Well, if you don't tell me, then we can't even _have_ the meeting, how will you get your name then?"

"FINE! I HAVE!"

"That's good. Don't pout; it doesn't look good on you. Cheer up, tomorrow's Saturday and we can bring you out then, alright?"

"Whatever." Ichigo smacked his Hollow. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FER?!"

"I said you shouldn't pout. Cheer up." Ichigo ruffled his hair. Hichigo smacked his hand away.

"LEAVE ME 'LONE!! Ya got what ya came fer!!" He turned around, back facing Ichigo. His King sighed. Then, out of nowhere, he wrapped his arms around Hichigo's waist, pulling them close.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Ichigo smirked.

"Cheer up."

"Stop tryin'! Jus' go back to yer body!"

"Not until you cheer up."

"Not gonna happen!" Ichigo huffed, and then abruptly sat down, cross legged, pulling Hichigo with him, and onto his lap. "HEY!"

"Yes?"

The Hollow glared at his King, and then looked away, stubbornly refusing to stop pouting.

"Hey." No answer.

"_Hey."_ Still no answer. Ichigo sat in silence for a couple minutes, thinking over on how he would get the Hollow out of his bad mood. He finally came up with the idea when he remembered the obvious fact that he _was_ a Hollow. Ichigo started laughing. Yes, full out _laughing_.

Hichigo was taken so much by aback that all he could do was stare dumbfounded at his King. After a couple seconds (which seemed like longer in Hichigo's mind) of that, and when his King _still_ didn't stop laughing, he proceeded to furiously shake and yell the answer out of his King.

"WHAT THE HELL 'R YA DOIN'?! SNAP OUT OF IT!!" Etc….etc…

When Ichigo finally calmed down, he opened his eyes to find himself looking at an angry, and still dumbfounded Hollow.

"S-sorry. I just find the situation really funny."

"What's so funny 'bout it?!" His King started snickering again. "NO MORE A THA'!"

"Alright, alright." He took a deep breath. "I just find it really funny that a blood-thirsty, destruction-bent, instinct-based Hollow, of all things, would be pouting _this_ childishly." Hichigo growled.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You're acting like a fucking child. I used to think you were all about fighting. Nothing but strength and instinct. Almost cool, if you weren't trying to kill me with it. But no, your child nature ruins it all. Way to go!"

"THAT'S IT!" Hichigo turned around and Ichigo jumped out of the way as he tried to hit him.

"Missed! You pathetic excuse for a _Hollow!_"

"YER PUSHIN' IT!" He jumped after his King again, and he flash-stepped out of the way.

"Hmm? You sure are defending yourself pretty desperately. You sure it isn't true? Admit it; you have the mindscape of a five year old."

"YOU'RE DEAD!!" He immediately drew his Zanpakuto and came straight down on Ichigo's head. Only to be blocked at the last minute. He was thrown off by his King, but it only made him double his efforts.

He was going to die. One way or another, he's going to be ripped to pieces for _daring_ to call _Shirosaki Hichigo_ a child!!

* * *

_**Back at Urahara's…**_

* * *

"Urahara-san."

"Yes Rukia dear?"

"We've gone threw pancakes, tea, coffee, idle chatter, _and_ catching up. It's not lunch time, and I'm not hungry. Can we _please_ get to the more important matter at hand?"

"Aw, but we're just having fun. You and your friends don't stop by often enough."

"You said you hate it when we bug you."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't complain about it." Rukia's eyes suddenly took on a _very_ dangerous glint, and her knuckles grabbing the table were turning white.

"Urahara-san."

"What is it, Rukia-chan?"

"Can I please have that package? If you're not going to give it to me, then let me pay for it like a regular customer. You have no obligation to the product then."

"Oooo! NOW we're getting somewhere, Rukia-chan. Since you've argued your point so nicely, there's no way I could _possibly_ turn down your offer. That would be outright _rude_ of me, now wouldn't it?" Hat-and-clogs just took to the top of her _'To-kill-when-I-finally-crack' _list.

"So, I can pay and get out?" _Finally!_

"Not quite, Rukia-chan." The table broke under her grip. Urahara didn't heed the warning.

"Why not?" How she kept her voice straight was a mystery never solved.

"Dear Rukia, there are _instructions!_ We don't want you going anywhere without those, now do we?"

"Aren't they in the box?"

"Do you really think I would be mindless enough to leave such a powerful device unprotected, _with the instructions?_ Really Rukia-chan, you _must_ think better of me then that!"

She groaned. _It's worth it, it's worth it, it's worth it. Think of Ichigo. You're doing a self-less deed here! COMPLETELY worth it!_

"Now then, ON WITH THE PRESENTATION!"

_It's worth it. Don't kill him, don't kill him, don't kill him._

* * *

_**Again with Hichigo and Ichi…**_

* * *

Both were currently lying on the ground, exhausted and desperately trying to get enough air to their lungs. Neither had very obvious wounds, just a few scratches and bruises. And both…were smiling?

After a couple minutes of this, Ichigo was finally rested enough to get over to Hichigo. He sat next to the Hollow and smirked at him.

"What the hell's tha' 'xpression fer?! Ya find somethin' funny?!"

"You're not pouting anymore." And for what seemed like the millionth time that day, Hichigo didn't know what to say. "Admit it. You're not mad at me anymore."

The Hollow smiled.

"Guess I'm not."

"Good. I hate it when you act like that."

"Pfft. Why would ya care? Just 'cause I'm part of yer soul?"

"I don't think so. Actually, I don't really know why. Guess I act more on instinct then you thought, huh?" _Instinct…does that mean…he cares about me?_

_Worth a try._

_Right…_ The Hollow took a deep breath.

"Actually King, I had somethin' else ta say ta ya. It's real important."

"Alright, shoot." Hichigo sat up and looked into his King's eyes with the most serious expression he's ever worn.

"I've fallen fer ya." Ichigo took on the expression of a deer in headlights.

"Wh-what…?"

"Ya heard right…I love you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

* * *

Such a CORNY ending! YAY! Hehehe.

Dunno when I'm gonna post again. This one took longer then expected. School and family and other supposedly important stuff like that.

THANKS FOR READING! JA NE!!


	5. Chapter 5

****

Chapter 5

"He….just…left…." Hichigo was looking down at the spot his King was sitting in, just moments ago. "Maybe…it was too early…" Zangetsu sighed.

'_If it was really too early, then he wouldn't like it. If he didn't like it, it would be raining. You know how emotional that boy is.' _No response. _'What? No smart-ass comment or not thought out sarcasm?'_

"Not in the mood." He sighed again.

'_Think about it, genius. Who was the last person to say 'I Love you' to Ichigo? Without him flinching away from it.'_

"His mom."

'_And what happened to her?'_ The hollow was silent again. _'I'm trying to help you. Now, WHAT happened to her!?'_

"She died."

'_Good. Now, how did she die?'_ Hichigo thought about it a minute, then the realization dawned on him.

"She died protecting him. So all I'd have to do is—"

'_WAIT! That's not a good idea. Let him figure it out on his own. The kid's smart, whether it shows or not. We'll just wait patiently, like always.'_ Hichigo groaned, but was in an all-together better mood, so he sat and waited.

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

* * *

Orihime walked along the road to Ichigo's house, a smile on her face and humming to herself.

_I'm so glad Kurosaki-kun trusts me this much. I'm going to be the only one to know this much about him. That means I'm like…his Number One friend!_ Still humming, she turned the corner, and saw Ichigo's house a couple houses down.

_This is my first time to Kurosaki-kun's house. I hope I'm not too early. I don't know how late he sleeps in on a weekend. Well, I'll go and check at least. _She skipped up to his door, still humming, and knocked a couple times. When he didn't answer, she thought to come back later, but tried knocking again.

She heard a low groan and heavy footsteps.

"Coming." Ichigo opened the door, stifling a yawn and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Still in his pajamas. "Oh, hey Inoue." He looked down at his clothes. "Oh, jeez. Sorry, I'm not usually up this early."

"O-oh, no, I should be the one apologizing. I forgot to ask what time to come. I could come back later."

"Nah, you can come in. Family's gone, the kitchen and living room are all open. Might take a bit for me to get everything ready though." She nodded happily, and following Ichigo inside.

"Have you eaten yet, Kurosaki-kun? I could make something. I accidentally skipped breakfast myself." Ok, Ichigo was tired, but not tired enough to eat _Orihime's _cooking.

"Nah, my stomach's not awake yet. You can make yourself something. Maybe the Hollow will eat with you, if we can succeed in getting him out of my head." Orihime laughed. "I'll be back in a bit, then."

"Of course. Take your time, Kurosaki-kun." He turned and gave a half-wave while walking up the stairs. Orihime turned to make…something…out random ingredients in the kitchen.

* * *

Ichigo arrived at his room, trying to think of a way to talk to Hichigo. Sure, love wasn't a new thing to him, but it was something he really didn't want to stray toward again. He even knows that he does have feelings for the Hollow. They might not be full-out love yet, but they're close enough.

The only people who ever told him that they loved him, after his mom died, were his family. And even his goofy dad figured out that he didn't like it, and stopped.

Truth be told, he had no idea what to say. Especially after cowering in fear and running away like that. The Hollow probably hates him. But, he had to get it over with. He did promise the Hollow that he would be able to come out and get his name. Yup, a promise is a promise.

Yet 5 minutes later, he was sitting in the same position on his bed, trying to get up enough courage to even _get_ into his mind…soul…thing.

That's when Zangetsu took pity on him and forced Hichigo to bring him in. He landed, un-prepared, right on his butt. It took all Hichigo had not to break out in laughter. That would really ruin the whole, serious point of this chapter.

Never the less, when his King made eye contact with him, he blushed and looked at the ground, ashamed. The only thoughts running through Hichigo's head were how cute he looked, and how proud of himself he was that he can make his King this flustered in the first place.

"Uh…hey…I guess…"

"Hey yerself, my King." Hichigo waited patiently as his King lost his courage yet again, only to regain enough of it a couple minutes later.

"Um…I wanted…no…I needed to tell you…that I'm sorry. For ditching you after you took the trouble to…confess…"

"I'm not mad about that, King." Ichigo looked shocked, still staring at the ground. But quickly went back to blushing when he realized that it just propelled him to get to the real point in their conversation.

"Well…I also wanted to say…that…alright; I have no idea what I want to say. But I do know that I have…feelings…for you…but I'm not…"

"Listen King, I'm not gonna be mean an' make ya say it yerself. I know why yer hesitatin'. Ya don' want me ta go an' get myself killed over meh feelin's, right?" Ichigo blushed more and nodded his head slowly. Hichigo's mind was now screaming CUTE as loud as it possibly can without killing the poor Hollow.

"Well, yer forgettin' one major detail, my King. I'm part a ya. I'm here because yer here. Now, where does this lead us ta?" His king looked at the ground, very thoughtful for a moment.

"I…"

"Need another hint?" Ichigo nodded. "Ya stabbed me through at least two 'r three vital organs." Ichigo flinched at the memory. "Yet I'm standin' before ya, obviously perfectly fine. Physically at least." The realization dawned on him. He finally made eye contact with the Hollow.

"You can't die if I'm still here."

"BINGO!" The hollow yelled, flailing his arms wildly and jumping in the air. "CONGRATS KING, YOU WIN THE PRIZE!" Ichigo was shocked, to say the least. One: because his Hollow couldn't die; and two: because of the fact that he now had no excuse to get out of the fact that he loved the guy.

"Wait, prize? What prize?" The Hollow smirked wider than he did the entire day.

"Well duh, King. Ya won me!" Before Ichigo could properly retort to that, the Hollow pounced on him. They both fell back, Ichigo hitting his head on the ground, and Hichigo tucking his head under his King's neck, practically purring despite the fact his King was yelling random curses at the top of his lungs.

A couple minutes after Ichigo stopped struggling, he decided to speak up.

"You know…Inoue's probably getting worried by now." He only got a muffled 'mmph' from his shoulder. "We should probably get going." Another 'mmph'. "HOLLOW!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!! Jeez! Humans are such impatient creatures." The Hollow decided to ignore the 'Like you aren't?' from his King, and just went on with the explanation. "All ya got ta do is pull me from some kinda reflective surface. Like a mirror or some water." Ichigo looked at him like he was crazy.

"That's all?"

"What were ya expectin'?"

"Something weirder, like Zangetsu with his cardboard thing. That actually sounds, somewhat normal. Compared to everything else that goes on in my head."

"Includin' the scenery."

"Don't remind me."

"Alright, alright. Ya should get goin'. Don' wanna be late fer our date with Hime-chan, now do we?" Before his King could retort, the Hollow pushed him out of their little sideways world.

* * *

Ichigo woke up, realizing immediately that he fell, face-first, off the bed he was sitting on. He groaned, sitting up and rubbing his sore neck. He heard laughter from inside his head.

'_What the hell are you laughing about?!'_

'_Hehehe, sorry King. Guess that was my fault.'_

'_Yeah, yeah. Whatever. So…mirror, right?'_

'_Yup yup.' _Ichigo looked around the room, then smacked himself for his stupidity and walked straight into the bathroom. When he turned toward the mirror, he saw his Hollow grinning back at him. Ichigo yelped in surprise.

'_Jeez! Warn me before you go and do something like that!'_

He watched Hichigo keel over in laughter. He blushed and reached up to hit the Hollow, but when his hand went straight through the mirror (which he forgot was here in the first place) a cooling feeling went through his whole body, accompanied by chills. His whole body shook a couple times, before Hichigo grabbed his hand. Ichigo was snapped out of it, and pulled back.

Hichigo came tumbling out of the mirror, landing on Ichigo and knocking them both back on the floor. Ichigo groaned as his head hit the wall, his eyes tightly closing. Hichigo wasn't hurt, landing on his King. He automatically jumped up, but then fell on his butt when his weak body couldn't hold him up.

_Probably a side-effect of coming out here for the first time. Damn._

"Well, that was…graceful." Ichigo said when he got over the blinding-pain in his head.

"Ya, definitely somethin'." Ichigo got up, looking over at Hichigo.

"Can you walk?" The Hollow just groaned. "Alright then, come on." His King lifted Hichigo up and pulled his arm around his shoulder. "No use making her wait more then we already have."

"This is definitely embarrassin'. First time meetin' someone and I'm carried to her. Definitely a wounded pride at least."

"Oh, suck it up." Ichigo opened the door and continued down the stairs. "It's not the end of the world."

Just as Hichigo was about to retort, Orihime came running up to greet them.

"You're both done just in time. I just finished cooking. Is something the matter?" She gestured to Hichigo.

"Ah, no he's just-"

"Just restin', Milady. Glad yer so worried 'bout little ol' me." She blushed and he winked at her. Ichigo smacked him.

"His body's weak because it's his first time in the real world. Don't mind his nicknames; they have absolutely no significance besides being annoying."

"Aw that's no fair, King. Yer ruinin' my first impression all over again." Hichigo said, rubbing his head. Orihime laughed.

"I wouldn't think ill will of someone off of a first impression." The Hollow's eyes lit up. He flung his still-weak body at Orihime.

"YES! I have a chance yet!" He managed to somehow stand, while embracing Orihime in a bone-crushing hug. Ichigo smiled as he heard Orihime laugh.

"The food's going to get cold, if we don't hurry." Though Ichigo wasn't fool enough to eat, he knew his Hollow would stand there all day hugging her if he didn't interfere. He was weird like that.

And he wasn't cruel enough to let Hichigo miss his first…meal…in the real world. (Insert another Chibi-Devil-Ichi)

"Right! I made something really, really delicious this time!" Hichigo automatically got into the conversation.

"What is it, what is it?!" She smiled warmly as Ichigo helped Hichigo over to the table.

"It's bean-casserole with chopped pickles and onions, a little bit of the orange juice out of the fridge, with a dab of mustard and hot sauce. It's a treat for the eyes and for the taste-buds!" Ichigo inwardly cringed, wondering if he should really let Hichigo eat that. But of course, that lasted or only a second.

"Sounds great, Inoue. I'm just sad that I wouldn't get a chance to eat it. My stomach doesn't seem to be working with me today." She smiled.

"It's alright. I made a little extra. It's in the fridge when you get hungry." He cringed again, already making plans for it to meet the incinerator.

"Aw, meanie King. Missin' this wonderful lady's cooking. It's alright, Hime-chan. Ya have the full privilege of makin' my first meal here." She laughed again.

"You're really funny, uh…" Orihime paused, obviously looking for a name. Ichigo smirked, and looked at his Hollow.

"Hehehe. I dun get my name yet. King here has it fer later."

"Um…so, what do I call you?" Ichigo looked down at the meal he wasn't warning his Hollow about, then ran over his reasons for keeping the name, and thought wrong of it.

"Actually, I'm going to give the Hollow his name. He's earned it." _Or will. _He thought to himself.

"REALLY KING!? YES!! WHAT IS IT, WHAT IS IT!?" Ichigo smirked.

"Once I give it to you, there's no changing it. Are you sure you don't want to get your own name?"

"Course not. Yer my King, so yer namin' me. Simple as that."

"Alright then. From here on out, your name is…" He paused because he knew it would bug the Hollow. Just as he thought, Hichigo twitched and narrowed his eyed a little.

"Yes?" Ichigo let a small laugh out. This just made Hichigo twitch more.

"Shinzo."

"Shinzo?"

"Yes. Hibiki Shinzo. That's your name."

* * *

**AN: Just 'cause I'm lazy and don't want to explain it in the story, Shinzo supposedly means heart (the point behind that is I'm going with the opinion that Hichigo doesn't have a hole in his chest where his heart's supposed to be,like a normal Hollow, and Ichigo's fascinated by that.) And Hibiki supposedly means sound (I love Hichigo's…uh…Shinzo's voice and he loves to talk. Ichigo just threw it in there. Hehehe)**

**I say supposedly because I'm going of a 10 dollar Japanese - English dictionary. Don't quote me.**

**Other then that, don't kill me for posting late. I have a life too! (A boring un-eventful one, but still!!) And this chapter's short…**

**I feel so ashamed!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright, I finally got this finished. It took longer because the Bleach group finally found me (like so many other Author's, as I see.)**

**Shinzo-THAT'S RIGHT! You are under our supervision from now on! Nice name, by the way.**

**Ichigo-Shinzo! How about you don't get side-tracked for once in your life?**

**Shinzo-...**

**Me-What's the fun in that?! Don't worry, I love your messed up brain Shinzo!**

**Shinzo-YES!**

**Ichigo-NO! DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM! JUST HURRY WITH THE STORY!!**

**Me-Fine, fine!! Pushy!!**

**Chapter 6**

"Well fuck." Ichigo raised his eyebrow at the Hollow.

"You not like it?"

"No…it's just…"

"Just?" Shinzo looked over to his King with a sparkle in his eyes. Ichigo mentally prepared himself for the worst. Unfortunately, he didn't physically prepare himself.

"JUST FUCKING AWESOME!!" He launched himself over the table at poor Ichigo, sending both of them (and the unfortunate chair) into the wall behind them.

Ichigo….fell unconscious for a couple minutes.

He awoke to find Shinzo squealing in joy and Orihime trying to control her laughter. He desperately wanted to go back to sleep. But the fates, as always, were against him.

"KKKIIIIINNNNGGGG!! CELEBRATE!! WE MUST CELEBRATE!!" Orihime started laughing harder as Shinzo started spinning in circles. Ichigo yelped as he was yanked forward and was twirled around like a rag doll by Shinzo.

It went on like that for about half an hour. Shinzo pulled random dance moves, still swinging Ichigo around. Orihime was turning many different colors due to her laughter.

When they were done, Shinzo and Orihime were breathing hard, smiling, and Ichigo was trying to coax the world to stop spinning. When Orihime caught her breath, she went to heat up the food, and Shinzo was left with a very dizzy Ichigo.

"Hey, King."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Ichigo raised his eyebrows.

"I already told you I'd give you a name-"

"No, not that. Fer puttin' up with me. Err…actually…now fer even likin' me. I'm not exactly the pick a' the crop, right?" Ichigo frowned, but then started laughing.

"My feelings are as screwed up as my head. And even more confusing." He ruffled the Hollow's hair. Shinzo stuck out his tongue.(.:Author squeals:. CUTE!!) "Plus, you're pretty…uh…special. I wouldn't want to loose you because of a few conflicting emotions."

"What kind a special are we talkin' about here, King?" Ichigo laughed.

"A lot of different kinds of special. Don't worry, most of them aren't bad." Orihime came in at that moment, cutting off whatever Shinzo was about to say. Ichigo thanked his momentary good luck.

"Food's ready, again." She said with a smile. Ichigo smirked.

"That's great, Inoue." Shinzo grinned.

"Perfect! I'm starved!" She set the plates down and immediately started eating hers.

_Manners everywhere but at the table._ Ichigo thought to himself. And then…Shinzo took a bite…

...:...:...:...:...

"FUCK THAT'S GOOD!!" Ichigo's mouth hit the table. Orihime lit up like a torch.

"Really! I'm so glad! I thought I added a bit too much hot sauce…" Shinzo was so engulfed in getting as much food into his mouth at the time, that he could only shake his head and mumble his thanks. Ichigo's mouth was still on the table.

_NO WAY!! No way, no way, no way, no way!! How…why…when….huh!? NO WAY! _Ichigo grumbled all through dinner, mumbling something about insufferable hollow and foiled plans.

* * *

When dinner was over, it was already approaching 9:00pm.

"Oh my, I really have to get home!!" Orihime wiped her wet hands (doing dishes) on a random towel and quickly said goodbyes, and ran out the door. (Insert sweat-drop here.)

"Well…that was…eventful." Ichigo sighed, while Shinzo laughed.

"Certainly was, King. I'm all happy an' satisfied. What cha wanna do?" Ichigo groaned.

"Sleep."

"Darn yer human body. Needin' sleep every 15 hours. It's annoyin'!"

* * *

**(Random Author's note: I just realized I went from breakfast...to dinner...and a late dinner at that...well...shit...whoops. For the life of me I can't remember how I did that. Ah well. THERE WAS A MAGICAL 5 HOUR LONG DAY!! BLAME SZAYEL!! Szayel pops in at the last minute. "Sorry Kit, you can't blame me for your laziness. I think that was Stark's department." I hang my head. "Damn.")**

* * *

"So are you, but I put up with it. Now you do the same. I need sleep." Ichigo trudged his way up the stairs, followed soon after by a grumbling Hollow.

"But Kiiiinnnngg! I dun wanna watch ya sleep! Yer borin'!"

"Too bad. You have to get…" Yawn. "Used to it." Shinzo huffed as Ichigo lay down on the bed, facing away from him.

"Fine. Get yer beauty rest. I'm gonna sit 'ere all night, alone, waitin' fer my dear King ta wake up from his self-induced stupor."

"Good luck with that."

"All alone. No one 'ere ta help me in my moment of complete and utter boredom."

"Uh-huh."

"All because you desperately prefer seep over lil' ol' me."

"Yup."

"Abandoned to my pondering."

"I get it."

"An endless black void of absolutely nothin' but bbbooooorrrrrrrddddddoooooommmmm."

"You can stop now; it's not going to work."

"Bbbooooorrrrrrrddddddooo—"

"SHUT UP SHINZO!!" A pillow projectile came out of nowhere, hitting the Hollow square in the face and knocking him off Ichigo's desk chair. He growled, but none-the-less got back up and kept quiet.

* * *

**10 minutes later…**

* * *

"King."

"What now?" Ichigo replied sleepily.

"I'm wonderin' somethin'."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"Everythin'."

"Shoot then, but only if I get to sleep after."

"Yup. I'll let ya sleep."

"Alright."

"Ya think yer other friends'll accept me?" Ichigo pondered over it for a moment.

"Some might, and the others would probably in time. Don't think about that kind of stuff right now. We'll deal with it when the time comes."

"Yeah…I guess…thanks…Ichigo." If Ichigo noticed the name-slip, he didn't say anything, and automatically drifted off to sleep.

His nightmares were filled with angry mobs screaming, "Off with the Hollow's head!" Thanks a lot, Shinzo.

* * *

_**The Next Morning…**_

* * *

Ichigo yawned and stretched, brushing against something with his arm. He smiled when he realized that Shinzo climbed into bed with him last night. Ichigo turned on his side and draped his arm over the Hollow's waist, pulling him closer. Shinzo unconsciously snuggled against his King, his back against Ichigo's chest. He sighed contently into the mess of snow white hair.

His sleepy brain soon came up with the excuse of 'Sunday' to not get up.

**That was BIG MISTAKE #1!!**

He fell asleep before his Hollow alarm could go off. The thing was unfortunately under a pile of clothes, successfully silencing the dreaded noise.

**BIG MISTAKE #2!!**

He left the window open.

_**BIGGEST MISTAKE!!**_

"Get up Ichigo there's…a…hollow. THERE'S A HOLLOW IN YOUR BED!!" Shinzo immediately woke up. He glared at the person interrupting his sleep, before his expression turned worried. Renji was sitting at the window.

"Shit." Ichigo, still asleep, pulled the Hollow closer to him when Shinzo tried to move.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Renji pulled out his sword and held it to Shinzo's throat. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slice your head off right now, Hollow."

"Ya'd interrupt dear King's beauty sleep?" He offered, sheepishly. Renji growled and held the sword closer, showing a little blood.

"Not good enough." Ichigo groaned.

"Shinzo, be quiet….tired….play later…"

"ICHIGO! Get your ass up!! You have a lot of explaining to do!"

"Mmm….There's no school, Karin….I'll get up later…." Shinzo had to use all his will-power to it's fullest to keep from laughing to death.

"ICHIGO IT'S RENJI! GET YOUR ASS UP NOW!!" That woke him up.

"FUCK!" He jumped up, slamming his head against the wall behind him. "What the hell are you doing here Renji!?" He met Renji's eyes, and immediately wished he hadn't. Renji's eyes were filled with rage, mistrust and most prominent, despair and betrayal.

"Ichigo. What. The. _Hell_. Is. Going. On?" Renji was grinding his teeth together, to try and keep himself in check.

"Renji, listen. It's not what you think. You see Shinzo's my—"

"_Shinzo?! _You named it?!"

"Yeah, I named _HIM._ _His_ name is Hibiki Shinzo. As I was saying, he's my inner Hollow." Silence filled the room. Renji's eyes widened and he lowered his sword in shock. Shinzo took a deep, very well needed breath, and backed up toward his King. He felt so defenseless due to his body's inability to cope with the outer world yet. And that fact that he couldn't summon Zangetsu.

"Ichigo, please tell me you're joking."

"It's no joke, Renji. Soon after you and Rukia interrogated me, he came back. We were…properly…introduced. Renji, please, just trust me." Shinzo looked guiltily over at his King's face. He saw Ichigo's desperation in his eyes. When Ichigo noticed he was looking, his King gave the Hollow a warm, reassuring smile. Shinzo's mood was lightened a little, but not all.

Renji's gaze dropped to the floor. The two color-differentiated copies watched as a number of emotions ran across his face. Hurt, betrayal, confusion, etc. It seemed like two sides of his minds were fighting with each other. Ichigo would've smirked at the irony, but best decided to save it until later.

"I….Ichigo, this is…" He massaged his temples as he felt a headache coming along.

"Renji, please." It was silent a couple minutes, while Renji mulled over his response. Finally, he sighed.

"Fuck this; if you trust the thing—err—I mean him—enough to let him sleep in your bed, then I guess I'd have no excuse to distrust him."

"'less ya were jealous." Ichigo smacked Shinzo upside the head.

"Not helping!" He hissed at the Hollow. Shinzo grinned, but stayed quiet like a good boy. He thought, _if I got recognition, a name, and a lover by stayin' quiet the first time, I wonder what I'll get out a being good fer a second time._

His mind works in strange (cough-perverted-cough) ways.

"Whatever. I never said I'd be around to deal with you. I'm just going to keep my mouth shut and avoid you. Sounds much better to me. No offense, Ichigo."

"None taken."

"Awesome, well then, I'm off. See one of you around." He smirked as he headed over to the window.

"Love-dumped."

"SHUT UP!" Ichigo and Renji yelled at the poor Hollow at the same time. Shinzo shrunk down and grinned sheepishly. Planned ruined, but mindless havoc achieved.

* * *

_**(Warning: my story started to sound forced, so I'm adding a new character. Yes it's a Bleach character. Some will love me and some will hate me but HEY, not my problem! I'm just a regular, if a little insane, writer.)**_

**An hour or two later...**

* * *

Ichigo walked out of the house, the earlier Hollow problem completely out of his mind. Hopefully Renji went and got it to release some pent up anger.

'_You're just sayin' that ta get out of a morning' job.'_

'_Yup.' _Ichigo's blunt answer left Shinzo stunned. Quietly stunned, Ichigo added with glee. He continued to his destination. Where would someone go this early on a _Sunday,_ you ask? Even if you didn't, I'm going to tell you.

_LIBRARY!!_

Yes, we all know he has a problem. For some odd reason Ichigo has a special place in his heart or reading on Sunday. This early? Not usually. But whatever.

He trudged his way along the well known path, stopping before a large, gothic looking building. He always thought the place looked like a Cathedral. See? Our little Ichi isn't that dumb. (.:Writer is hit with a random book by said strawberry:.)

He opened the doors, said hello to the workers passing by, (He knows all of them.) and making his way up the stairs to a section in the corner.

His interests differed between pretty random things, from wars and old culture, to poetry and Shakespeare. But for the moment, he was…in the art section? Yes, our Ichi is in the picture book section. They may be famous pictures and famous picture books, but they're still picture books.

Ichigo took a book off the shelf titled Art of Central and Western Europe. (Don't quote me; I made that up in two seconds. My mom likes Europe…) He sat on a nearby table and immediately dived into the book

'_Uh King? I'd hate ta be the bearer a bad news, but that's a picture book.'_

'_Shut up. Interesting.'_

'_Again…PICTURE BOOK!'_

'_READING!!' _Ichigo sent a STRONG mental push toward Shinzo, and right after cut their connection. Sure, he had to use some of his energy for it, but _no one_ interrupts Ichigo when he's found a good book.

And just then, did the familiar Gargantua open right behind Ichigo.

"Hey Ber—." The visitor was hastily bask-fisted and Ichigo moved to a new table. Only then did Ichigo mutter a 'Shut up, Grimmjow' towards the panther, who was now holding a bloody nose. (.:Author does a victory dance:. YES! I managed Grimmy in through randomness and utter crack! My day is GREAT!)

'_Damn Gigai and their damn weakness. A bloody nose through just one punch.'_ Grimmjow went back up to Ichigo, looking over his shoulder.

He suppressed a chuckle.

"A _picture _book?" Another back-fist, another move, another 'Shut up Grimmjow.' Only this time with a 'Or I'll admit you to torture by Inoue's cooking,' following right after it. Grimmjow shuttered, having tried said cooking when they held Orihime at Los Noches. He and Ulquiorra were green for a month, not being able to work. Ever since, Aizen banned Orihime's cooking. Except for Luppi, he seemed to like her cooking.

So, he just sat on the desk in front of Ichigo. Keeping silent and patiently waiting for the kid to finish. And we all know, Grimmjow and Patient don't go in the same sentence. Thankfully, it _was_ a picture book. Aka-not much reading. And Ichigo was a damn good reader, so he was done fast. As soon as he put the book down, Grimmjow was up and active again. Like he was born to do!

"FINALLY!" He grabbed Ichigo's arm and made a beeline down the stars and to the exit. Ichigo just shrugged and let himself be dragged along.

_Beats walking, I guess._ They were soon out the door and heading down the street. Grimmjow was still storming down a few more blocks, walking off the irregular feeling of 'sitting still and being quiet'. But soon enough, he stopped.

"You have no idea where you're going do you?"

"None at all."

"Figured." Ichigo got up and brushed himself off. "So why exactly did you come here this time. Last couple of times they were all something stupid like movies and driving and music and—"

"HEY! That was all new to me! They fit moving pictures into screens; sit while moving in a tin can, and stuff voices inside speakers and earphones! And those evil brain morphing asylums they use to torture kids into thinking and acting one certain way. I can't believe you _willingly_ go to one of those!"

"It's called a school, Grimmjow. And you still haven't answered my question." The panther glared at Ichigo and crossed his arms.

"Fine. Nnoitra told me something about—"

"WHY is it always NNOITRA telling you these things?! I should kill the bastard now. Gets two loser Arrancar off my back."

"No, I'd still find a way to bug you." Ichigo deadpanned. Grimmjow went on like it was normal. "What I was saying was that Nnoitra told me that there was something tha can suck your soul through a small piece of glass and store it using an exact copy of the moment you took the soul. He even said you can distribute to a lot of people. It sounds like the ultimate torture!"

"DAMMIT GRIMMJOW! YOU TORE ME AWAY FROM THE LIBRARY FOR A _CAMERA!?_" Oh shit.

Grimmjow could take a hint. The next second he was off and running. Followed by an _EXTREMELY_ pissed off Ichigo. All of Ichigo's friends that they ran by didn't even second glance it. The same thing was going through all their heads.

'_It's noon on the second Sunday of the month.'_

* * *

**Hehehe, Grimm has a 'Bug Berry' schedule that everyone's caught on to but said berry.**

**Anyway, I'll say it again. This story has little plot. Well…it has one…but nothing to do at all with anything relevant. I've just decided to push it off as crack and get on with my life.**

**FROM HERE ON OUT…RANDOMNESSISITIVITY AND FINDING A HUNDRED AND ONE WAYS TO PISS ICHIGO OFF!!**

**(Which, by the way, is an idea for a new story of mine. 101 chapters, each giving one example of pissing Ichigo off. I might make it less though…NO STEALING MY IDEA! That would be mean. .:puppy eyes:.)**

**Oh…and Grimmy with a camera. YES!!**

**Grimmjow-I've always wanted to figure out those flashing things the fangirls always have.**

**Shinzo-You have fangirls?! Holy shit! **

**(Grimmjow runs after a smirking Shinzo)**

**Ichigo-Whatever. I got to hit Shiro--er--Shinzo a few times. So, I'm satisfied.**

**Me-.:sweatdrop:. Sure, sure. (Wonders how her mom is going to handle a broken Moter Home with a couple of rampaging Hollow freaks...and doesn't like the results. Then goes to hide.)**

**TILL NEST TIME!! JA NE!!**

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

**Shinzo-Yay! New chapter, new chapter!!**

**Ichigo-Really Shinzo, you can't be related to me in any way.**

**Shinzo-No King, no I'm not. That would be like…incest…err something…EW**

**Grimmjow-Yeah, then I'd be able to steal him. **

**Shinzo-Aw, I got ta King before Kitty-boy did.**

**Ichigo-Does anyone find it a bit weird that the Author isn't cutting us off by now to start the story?**

**Grimm and Shiro- NOPE!**

**Ichigo-.:sigh:. How come I'm always put with the idiots?**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_Flash. Click…..giggle…._

Ichigo desperately tried to focus on his homework.

_Flash. Click…..giggle…._

Ichigo growled and faced a different direction. He heard scuffling behind him.

_Flash. Click…..giggle…._

"THAT'S IT!!" He pounced on the panther.

"HEY!! THAT'S MINE!!"

"GIVE IT UP!"

"NEVER!" Bite. "OW!!" Ichigo went back to his desk, the annoying object successfully in hand. "WHAT THE HELL?! YOU _BIT_ ME?!"

"Yeah I did. Now shut up and let me finish my homework."

"I want that fucking Camera!"

"Nope. The camera's over-stayed its welcome." He heard a growl from behind him.

"Fine. Will you give me the camera back if I go take pictures somewhere else?" Ichigo turned his head and eyed him suspiciously.

"And how do I know you'll do that?"

"Because I _really_ want that camera back."

'_Aw King, let the poor Kitty have his toy back.'_ Ichigo mentally smirked.

"_We should get him a ball of yarn.'_

'_Way ahead of ya. Look in the closet. I found it in your sister's room.'_

'_And what were you doing in there.'_

'_Putting Kon in Ms. Fluff.'_

'…_..what?'_

'_The big, pink, frilly Unicorn thing that Yuzu has.'_

'_Oh, that's harsh.'_

"Hmm…I don't think I'll let you have it back yet."

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHY NOT!?" Ichigo didn't answer as he walked over to his closet. He could hear Shinzo snickering in his head. He opened the doors and found a large, _teal blue_ ball of average-sized yarn. Oh was this going to be fun.

"Grimm, come here for a second."

"You gonna give me my camera?"

"Maybe." Grimmjow came up behind him.

"Alright wha-" He was cut off as he was slammed in the stomach by an unknown object. He fell back onto the ground. "WHAT THE…." He looked down to see what hit him, and a sparkle came to his eye. "FUCKING AWESOME!!" Ichigo fell on to the ground laughing as Grimmjow pounced on the unsuspecting yarn ball. He even got a headache when Shinzo couldn't contain his laughter, but he was so caught up in the moment that he didn't notice.

Until it was time to get up.

"Ow…Hehehe…ow ow ow…Hehehe…fucking funny…ow ow ow…" He slowly and painfully crawled back over to his desk. Grimmjow was still playing with a ball of yarn.

20 minutes later…

"Uh…Hey….Ichi?"

"It must be important if you called be my name. Yeah?"

"Could you…uh…maybe…help? Just a little…"

"Why the hell are you acting…so…timid…" Ichigo trailed off as he turned around. "Grimm."

"Yeah."

"Please. _Please._ Tell me I'm not dreaming."

"You're not dreaming. I really, really wish you were."

"You just asked for my help."

"Yes."

"You're sitting there, completely and utterly defeated."

"Unfortunately."

"By a _yarn ball!"_ Cue another fit of uncontrollable laughter. Grimmjow was sitting on Ichigo's bed, looking like a rushed Christmas wrapping. Covered in head to toe in _teal blue_ yarn. And growling. There was _lots_ of growling.

"Can you just get your ass over here and untangle me?!"

'_KING! TIE A BOW ON 'IS 'EAD!! DO IT NOW!!'_

'_You don't have to tell me twice.' _Just as suggested, Ichigo walked over to Grimmjow, who sighed in relief when he thought he was getting rescued. But a couple seconds later, he groaned.

There was an Ichigo styled bow on his head. Said Ichigo was laughing, walking to his desk.

"Wait! Where are you going?! GET ME UNTIED! HEY!"

"Don't worry Grimmjow. I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine. The only way I would think you wouldn't like it." He picked the camera up from the desk.

"You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?" He held up the camera.

"You planned this didn't you?!"

"No, but it sure turned out well, didn't it?" Grimmjow furiously tried to untie himself, or at least move out of the camera's way. He couldn't move at all. "Say cheese Grimm."

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Flash. Click. "AUGH!!"

"Hmm. We should probably get a couple angles for good measure." Flash. Click. Move. Flash. Click. Move. By now Grimmjow was blinded. Shinzo was laughing so hard that even Ichigo was starting to feel his lungs cramp from the lack of breath. After about eight different angles and even more pictures, Ichigo finally decided that the punishment was enough and put the camera back on his desk.

"So, Grimmjow. I might untie you now. But only if you swear it, right here and now, that you will not attack me upon getting free."

"LIKE HELL!!" Ichigo turned and started walking back to his desk. "OK! FINE! No killing Ichigo. I swear."

"No _attacking_ Ichigo." He growled.

"No attacking Ichigo."

"Swear?"

"Swear."

"Alright then." The yarn was undone and Grimmjow stretched his aching limbs. Ichigo finally walked back over to his desk to get his homework done. But fate, as always, was against him.

_CRASH!_

"What the hell?" Grimmjow pointed to Ichigo's Hollow alarm. Ichigo scowled. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"How the _hell_ would I _possibly_ do that?! You really that dumb, brat?" His scowl grew.

"Whatever." Still mulling over his foiled plans, Ichigo exited out of his real body, and jumped toward the Hollow menace without a second glance.

He arrived upon a…mutated version of a Wolf Hollow. Or, that's the best way to describe the thing. Unfortunately, not soon after he brought his sword down upon the Hollow's mask, successfully slaying it, did he find himself surrounded. More and more were coming by the second. All of them seemed to be after him.

Not one was even second glancing the surrounding humans.

Putting aside the strange thoughts for now, he focused solely on fighting. But, for every Hollow he destroyed, it seemed like two more would soon come to take its place. There were so much by now, that he could barely feel Renji and Rukia when they started fighting. So far away.

He felt Grimmjow, Uryu, Inoue, Chad, Urahara and his crew all fighting also. They didn't seem to be having as much trouble as he was.

He was brought back from his thoughts when a Hollow from behind slashed through his right shoulder. He cursed himself for getting distracted and made quick work of the thing. He started getting desperate. Firing Getsuga Tensho at the ones in the sky and his movements becoming erratic.

'_King! Let me take over! There's too many!'_

'_NO! I can handle this!'_

'_Yer bein' dumb! Let me fight! Ya know ya can trust me now!'_

'_SHUT UP! I know that!' _

'_Then let me fight!' _By now, Ichigo was covered head to toe in bruises and cuts. They were getting braver. Moving closer. Ichigo was having a VERY hard time keeping an eye on all of them at once.

'_KING!'_

'_Shut up!' _One slashed at his leg. He barely avoided a fatal wound from another. The more Ichigo killed, the more erratic and tired his moves became. It was taking more then one hit to take them out now. Shinzo was desperately trying to get control, without halting Ichigo's movements any more then they are.

'_Please King! Yer not going to win! LET ME HELP!' _

'_NO! I'm not going to loose!'_ He was hit again.

'_KING! BEHIND YOU!'_ There was no time. The Hollow's arm went straight through his stomach. His lungs filled with blood and his mind went numb.

'_ICHIGO!' _Shinzo took over right away.

He barely had time to escape through a portal into Hueco Mundo, before falling unconscious.

* * *

_Dammit!_ Grimmjow sliced through one Hollow after another. They barley paid any attention to him. The only ones that did were the ones that were right beside the ones he killed. No screams or attacking. Just glances. But for everyone he slew, more appeared around him. He wasn't getting anywhere. He could still see Ichigo's house.

_The kid runs out and there just _has_ to be a hollow that pops up, blocking him from me. Just _HAS_ to be._ Why Ichigo didn't turn around when he felt the hollow, Grimmjow didn't know. Unless…

_Did he even feel the thing? _He tried searching for their reiatsu. Nothing. None of them have any trace of sensible reiatsu what so ever.

_What the hell is going on here?_ What baffled him even more is that Ichigo's reiatsu disappeared. Soon after, the Hollow left. Every single one of them. He was left standing there, baffled, trying to come up with a reasonable theory as to _why_ the _hell_ that just happened.

It didn't work.

* * *

Shinzo awoke with a pounding headache. Most of the wounds were already healed, he noticed pleasantly. Just the one on his shoulder, and his stomach were still healing.

Wait…

Sand…sky…wounds on _his_ body…

"WHAT THE HELL?!" He jumped up, ignoring the throbbing pain it caused. He was still out. Still in control of Ichigo's body.

'_King?' _He didn't hear an answer. _'King? Ichigo? Come on, answer me!' _He heard a groan. A groan…that wasn't inside his head. He looked down.

Ichigo was laying; face down, with Shinzo standing on top of him.

"Shit!" He immediately jumped off, landing on his butt beside Ichigo when his body sent a wave of pain at him. Ichigo lifted his face from the sand and started coughing, desperately trying to replace the sand in his lungs with air. Shinzo was in a state of complete and utter mental breakdown.

"OH! I get it! This must be a dream! Then why are we in Hueco Mundo?"

"Shinzo?" The Hollow turned back toward his King.

"Yes?"

"How are you here?" Pause. Rewind. Play back.

"How are you here?" A dream wouldn't ask that. He pinched himself. It hurt. He pinched himself again, for good measure. It hurt worse.

"How…am…I here?" He stuttered out, intelligently.

"I just asked you that." Ichigo looked just as dumbfounded as he was. So, he did what he always did when stumped. Turned to…

'_ZANGETSU!!' _Said conscience groaned.

'_How can I help you?'_

'_WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!' _

'_If you would stop yelling and think, you could probably figure it out. But no, you _have_ to come to me.'_

'_Yes. Now talk.'_

'_Alright, alright. As you know, most Vizard have a servant and master relationship, correct?'_

'_Yeah.'_

'_And you know that you and Ichigo don't, correct?'_

'_Yeah.'_

'_Apparently your minds were unstable. They weren't used to your kinds of relationships. So when you saved him that last time, __and__ took the wounds for him, your minds collapsed under the pressure, and split themselves to keep both intact.'_

'_So…we're two different people now?'_

'_If you can really say people, then yes. But, I'm not sure as to if it's a temporary thing or not. It might just be until both of your minds are adjusted to the new idea.'_

"YES!!" Ichigo was shocked out of his pondering by Shinzo's shout. Seemingly from out of nowhere.

"What the hell?!" Shinzo practically skipped in joy over to Ichigo and grabbed his shoulders, shaking them happily.

"I 'ave good news. I 'ave good news." He sang, in his own little world of his.

"Wha-at…g-good… news...?" Ichigo said, around Shinzo's shaking. He stopped soon after.

"Well ya see, I was talkin' ta Zangetsu an' we came up with a conclusion."

'_You mean I told you.' _"You mean he told you." Zangetsu and Ichigo said simultaneously, both oblivious to the other. Shinzo groaned, deciding to ignore Zangetsu and re-focused on Ichigo.

"That's mean King, dun ya have any confidence in yer loyal…err…what is there besides a servant?" Ichigo blinked.

"Why don't you just say servant?" Shinzo smirked.

"Thought ya dun want me to?" Ichigo's scowl grew.

"You know what I mean."

"Well then, if you be quiet I can tell you." He ignored Ichigo's glare and continued. "Our minds dun like us bein' all intimate like," Ichigo blushed, "with each other, so they pushed us apart. Either it's permanent or our minds are gonna grow used to it and pull us back together. FUN HUH?"

Ichigo stood dumbfounded as Shinzo danced around the endless sands of Hueco Mundo. **(AN: I think this sentence describes Ichi and Shinzo's relationship EXACTLY!)**

* * *

Grimmjow was panicking. Him and a search group of EVERY SINGLE PERSON that knows Ichigo was working to the point of exhaustion to find said boy.

He'll never admit that he looked out for the kid, but come on, it was as plain as day. Grimmjow knew he was straight, but hat doesn't mean he can't worry about the kid like…like an older brother or something.

Hehehe…older brother…

NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW! Grimmjow leaves the park for what seems like the thousandth time that night. Everyone besides him and Renji had collapsed or had to go in for the night to not worry their parents. The search has been going on since noon.

It was 9:30 the next morning. Almost a whole day now. Grimmjow still can't stop looking. He passes by Renji again.

Renji stopped asking the panther why he was concerned about the seventh time they passed. This was the 38th. They both looked grimly at each other. Actually stopping. Renji looked like he was about to faint, while Grimmjow looked about ready to kill something.

"No luck?"

"Goes without saying."

They both groaned. Renji took the time to fall back, still breathing heavily. Grimmjow sat down with him.

"Where….where the hell…cou…could he have gone?"

"If I knew that I'd already be there looking…" Grimmjow had a stroke of genius. "Be there…That portal that opened…"

"Did you find something out?!" Renji apparently had rush of adrenaline and shot up, jumping to his feet.

"Hueco Mundo." Both their eyes widened at the new voice. Two blonds, a guy and a girl, step from the nearby trees, scowls on their faces to mask their worry.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"And how do you know about Ichigo?"

"That's what we've come here to say. We're going to need your help. In retrieving him." Grimmjow and Renji brace themselves, preparing for the worst.

* * *

**Virtual self-serve cookies for anyone who can find out who their guests are…but really…it's not that hard…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Um...yeah...I had this writen and ready to be posted a couple days ago...BUT I FELL ASLEEP! When I woke up, I thought I did it...and it was only until now that I realize I didn't! SORRY!!**

Shinzo-YYYEEESSSSHHHH!! My own body!! PLEASE tell me I get to keep it!! PLEASE!!

Ichigo-.: complaining in a corner with a migraine:. He's worse now then when he was in my head!

Shinzo-.: seductive voice:. Aw, King, ya know ya lurve it!

Ichigo-.: stuttering:. Uh…well I….: backs off slowly, but soon dashes off:.

Shinzo-Wait! King! Come back!

Me-.: Watches the exchange with a grin on her face:. Oh, yeah, this chapter is a bit longer then my others. YAY! Anywho…continuing!

* * *

**Last Chapter**

"Hueco Mundo." Both their eyes widened at the new voice. Two blonds, a guy and a girl, step from the nearby trees, scowls on their faces to mask their worry.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"And how do you know about Ichigo?"

"That's what we've come here to say. We're going to need your help. In retrieving him." Grimmjow and Renji brace themselves, preparing for the worst.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Shinji and Hiyori stopped a few feet away from Renji and Grimmjow. Renji kept quiet, as Grimmjow seemed to know more about these newcomers then he did.

"Why would you freaks go out of your way to save Ichigo?" Shinji looked offended.

"Why, you ask? He _is_ one of us. Or had you forgotten?"

"One of you? What exactly are you?" Renji asked, obviously confused. Hiyori had enough of keeping quiet to last her a year.

"What we are is none of your concern, stupid Shinigami."

"Now, now Hiyori, be nice. We are asking for their help, after all." Hiyori glared at the taller man.

"I don't see why. We can do it by ourselves. Why would we need them?!"

"We don't know what we're up against. For all we know, someone could be holding dear Kurosaki-kun hostage. _Then_ what would we do? Our group isn't enough to go up against something Kurosaki-kun couldn't beat."(1) Grimmjow had enough.

"I will ask you _one more time. _What would you _possibly _gain by _rescuing_ Ichigo?!" Shinji looked back.

"Alright, alright. Kurosaki-kun, as I've said before is one of us. You know what that…comes with, do you not?"

"Yeah. I do."

"In Hueco Mundo, _that thing_ will become more and more independent. If it isn't already separated from Ichigo, then it will be soon. We need to stop that from happening." Grimmjow nodded.

"Do you know anything about the attack earlier? They didn't seem like regular Hollow to me." Shinji grinned that all knowing grin of his. Renji shivered, thinking of how much it reminded him of ol' Hat-and-clogs. But, Hiyori spoke up instead.

"You're right, they weren't _normal_. They were either mutated offspring, otherwise known as clones, or they were a new species of Hollow." Shinji took up from there.

"And, seeing as clones need an original source, which we couldn't sense, that couldn't be the answer we're looking for."

"So they are a new branch. Weird I haven't heard of anything like that. I need to talk to a few people. Where do you want me to meet you?" Grimmjow stated, abruptly. Shinji and Hiyori looked at each other.

"We'll be leaving in three days. There's an old warehouse on the outskirts of town. We'll let a small amount of Reiatsu leak through our barrier on that time. Anyone whose coming will come, anyone who's not, won't. Understand?" Renji and Grimmjow nodded. "Good. We'll be off then." And they disappeared.

* * *

While Renji went to go take the newly gathered information to Rukia and the others, Grimmjow went straight into Hueco Mundo. The old Los Noches fortress, to be precise.

"YO! SZAYEL! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"

"Calm down, Grimmjow-san. I'm right here." Grimmjow immediately turned and grabbed the scientist by the collar, lifting him up off the ground.

"I have a few questions, and I'm _going_ to get my answers."

"My, my, so hasty. I'll give answers to questions I have answers to, but that's all I can offer." Grimmjow was getting tired of his cocky grin, and slammed him against a nearby wall.

"What the hell's up with the new Hollow-freaks?!" Szayel looked intrigued.

"A new Hollow species? Do tell, do tell. Did you manage to capture one? I could hold a proper dissection and—"

"You're saying you don't know?!"

"The only Hollow species I have knowledge of are the Minor Hollow, the Menos, Gillian, Adjuchas, Vasto Lorde, and Arrancar."

"Fuck."

"Why is it that you seek this knowledge, Grimmjow-san?" The panther growled and sent a glare toward the scientist.

"None of your fucking business. I have another question."

"Of course, ask away."

"Is there any un-charted regions of Hueco Mundo?"

"There is, there is. A little past the outskirts of where you were first found, Grimmjow-san. The territory is un-mapped because we didn't see any use to it. All we know about it is that when we _did_ send our men there, they didn't come back. The area has no way to communicate with the outside areas because of the strange frequencies. Everything about the place is a mystery. That's the most likely place you will find your 'new species.'" Grimmjow looked thoughtful, mulling over the glimpses he caught of that place when he was an Adjuchas. It wasn't pretty.

"Fine. That's all I needed. I might bring you back a sample, if I can." The scientist looked absolutely ecstatic.

"So you _do_ plan on going there! Oh good! Can you bring me back a couple of the surrounding architectural features and plants as well? I would absolutely _love_ more specimens! We've been running quite dry."

"Yeah sure, whatever. As long as it doesn't weigh me down."

"LOVELY! I love having you around sometimes Grimmjow-san! Come back alive will you?" Grimmjow dropped the scientist.

"Whatever." And he was gone.

* * *

"So, in summary, we're allying with people we've never heard of, to go somewhere we now nothing about, and fighting against newly found enemies, also that we now nothing about, to save Ichigo from certain doom?"

"He did the same for you."

"True. Alright I agree. Everyone else?" Rukia and Renji looked toward the group they gathered.

"I'm in." Orihime and Chad said at the same time.

"I guess I don't have a choice do I?" Ishida reluctantly agreed.

"Oooo, rescuing our savior. Sounds beautiful! Ne, Ikkaku?" Yumichika said, overjoyed.

"As long as there are lots and lots of enemies to take out, it would be so much better then staying here. Why are we still posted in Karakura anyway?" Ikkaku's question went ignored.

"Someone still needs to be here to lead the Sou-Taichou off." Everyone turned wide-eyed at Hitsugaya. He just looked annoyed. "You rebels won't keep to the Soul Society rules even if we had you under watch every second of your lives. Go save Kurosaki and I'll stay here."

"And, I stay with my Captain. I have to be present for the reports we send in. And we can't say I have a hang-over _every_ time." Matsumoto added a bit too cheerfully. Hitsugaya groaned and everyone else just kinda zoned her out on instinct.

"So we have a team of…seven Shinigami?"

"Wow Renji! You can count!" The red-head glared at Rukia.

"Of course I can _count!_ You little—" Ikkaku cut him off.

"SO! When are we going again?"

"Well, subtracting the time it took to round you all together…a little less then two days now. Which….reminds…me…" Renji's voice trailed off as he fell asleep, falling back onto Inoue's floor. Ikkaku nudged him a couple times with his foot.

"Yeah, the guy's about as awake as a dead rock."

"What the hell is a _dead_ rock?! Are rocks alive in the first place?!"

"…"

"Well?"

"Shut up."

* * *

"Seriously, stop that."

"But Kiiinnngg!" Shinzo pouted.

"I said no. And no is my final answer."

"But…ya look so cooomffy!!"

"I JUST WANT TO FUCKING SLEEP!? IS THAT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND?!"

"Then let meh lay on yer lap. The sand's too hard, an' there ain't another rock like the one yer leanin' on fer miles and miles." Ichigo groaned.

"You're not going to let me sleep, are you?"

"I would if ya'd just let me use yer lap!"

"That's just…_creepy!_ No way!"

"Prude."

"Name calling won't get you anywhere." Shinzo stuck his tongue out. Ichigo sighed and closed his eyes, trying once again to get some much needed sleep. Until he felt pressure on his lap.

"I SAID NO!!" Ichigo immediately stood up, dropping Shinzo unceremoniously onto the ground. But as soon as Ichigo was up, Shinzo crawled in as quickly as he could to take his place.

"Hehehe, now it's the other way around King. Ya gonna lay on the sand?" He said, smugly, as he got comfortable with his back up against a rather tall rock. Ichigo was turning red with anger.

"Shinzo. I. Just. Want. To. Get. Some. Sleep. Please. _Move._" The albino, once again, stuck out his tongue. He then spread his legs and tapped the sand between them.

"Come on King; just sit right 'ere. Ya can lean back against lil' ol' me. I won't do anythin'. Bet its way more comfy then sleepin' on a rock." Ichigo was quickly loosing the will to fight back. Which Shinzo easily took advantage of. "Come on, lean back against me and rest yer head on my shoulder. I'll keep ya safe while ya sleep King."

"I…don't need to be…protected." Ichigo said around yawns.

"But ya _do_ need sleep. Pretty pwease King? I won' bite." _At least not while King's asleep. Hehehe._

"Fine. I'm going to get you for this when my brain wakes up." Shinzo had that 'complete and utter joy' smirk on his face as Ichigo sat in front of him. He still seemed hesitant when it came to actually leaning back, though, so Shinzo decided to do him a favor. He wrapped his arms around his King's waist and pulled him back. Ichigo…squeaked…or something…but allowed himself to be pulled back.

"Mmm. Comfy King?" Ichigo shifted a little, before finally leaning his head back on Shinzo's shoulder.

"I guess. Now comes the _actual_ sleep part. You're _not_ going to do _anything_."

"I know, I know! Jeez King, have a little faith." Then Ichigo started to fall asleep.

"Uh-huh…sure…" Yawn. "Oi, keep it above the waist. Not doing anything means no molesting."

"But…" Ichigo sent him his death glare and Shinzo fell silent, pouting. Not soon after, Ichigo fell asleep.

* * *

**Two days later (I got lazy)**

* * *

Ishida and Rukia were the only two to notice the almost non-existent reiatsu Shinji let out. But they were all off at top speed in the next couple of seconds.

And arrived at the warehouse less then five minutes later. Shinji was outside waiting for them.

"No Grimmjow?" Renji shook his head.

"He hasn't contacted us yet."

"Ah." The portal opened up enough to let them all in, and only Ishida hesitated, but went in anyway. Shinji laughed as he held the door open for them. Renji and Ikkaku took offense.

"What's so funny?" They said, simultaneously.

"Sorry, this is just a first for us. Shinigami, humans, and Quincy all under our roof at the same time. Grimmjow gets here and we'll even have Hollow. It's a cause for celebration, don't you think?"

"Don't make them feel invited. They're just here because it's _absolutely necessary._"

"Hiyori, so mean." He just got a 'pshh' in response. The entering group looked around them to find no one else there.

"You two aren't the only ones, are you?" Both the blonds looked toward Rukia.

"Oh, heavens no. The others are all down in the training room. We thought it would be a little intimidating if we had them to greet you here. So, do you want to talk here, or down there? I'm sure you want to know more about us, correct?" He smiled. Everyone had to hold back shivers.

"How about we talk with the rest of your group." Yumichika said, helpfully. Shinji nodded and continued to lead them down the stairs to the desert-like training grounds.

"Perfect. Careful though, Love and Lisa might be in a bit of an—" He was cut off as a manga flew dangerously close to his head, accompanied by yelling. "Argument."

"YOU DON'T TOUCH MY STUFF WITHOUT ASKING!" Lisa shouted, venomously.

"I WOULDN'T HAVE TO IF YOU LET ME BORROW IT MORE OFTEN!" Love yelled, defensively, as he tried to dodge Lisa's wrath. The Shinigami and other newcomers were staring at the open display of violence wide-eyed. All but Orihime, who had come here once before. She ran straight up to Hachi.

"Orihime-chan! How nice it is to see you again!"

"I'm glad to see you too Hachigen-kun." She replied, as she gave him a hug.

"HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK THAT! MY PERSONAL BELONGINGS ARE MINE AND MINE ONLY! I PAY FOR THEM WITH _MY_ MONEY!"

"BUT I DON'T _HAVE_ ANY MONEY!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S SO FREAKING HARD TO GET MONEY WHEN YOU'RE HERE! IF I COULD SO IT, THEN YOU CAN TOO! GET A JOB, LAZY!" Love continued to run away from a murderous Lisa. Shinji ran over to try and break them up.

"Now, now. Can we cut each other's heads off later? We have guests, and-"

"SHUT UP SHINJI! THIS IS OUR FIGHT!" He ducked away from the make-shift missiles thrown at him. (Another book and a rock.) That's when Kensei came up and knocked out Love.

"There. You can beat the guy up later, Lisa, he's not going anywhere. Can we please get this meeting over with now?"

"Of course, of course, thank you Kensei. Now then, Shinigami rebels and friends please come this way!"

"Why does everyone _insist_ on calling us rebels?!" Ikkaku asked, as they walked toward the now sitting group.

"Oh, we are and you know it. Now shut up and sit down."

"Pushy much, Rukia?" Renji got a smack to the head.

"Now, now, calm down. We just stopped one fight. Anyway, as I was saying before we came down here. You must be eager to learn more about us, right?"

"Yeah, and I want to know how Ichigo fits in to all this." Rukia demanded, fingering the device in her pocket that she bought from Urahara.

"Of course, of course! He was your friend first, after all. Now then. I'll start by telling you that we all have once been Shinigami, just like yourselves."

"That's impossible! I would've heard your names!"

"Our data was erased from every record and file known to the Soul Society, and anyone who knew us was either forbidden to speak of us again, or had their memories of us forcefully removed. Now then, can I go on?" Rukia nodded. "Good."

"Now, as I was saying. We _were_ Shinigami. We are not anymore. And neither is dear Ichigo-san." That got some argument, which Shinji silenced by holding up his hand. "Please, allow me to continue. Any further interruptions and I will be forced to leave you without information and to go even blinder into this battle than we are." That effectively shut everyone up.

"Good. Now then. Have any of you ever heard of a race called Vizard?" All the Shinigami looked around at each other, and apparently no one had. Ishida was another story.

**(AN: This is where it gets WAY not like the original series. I've made my own theory as to how Vizard and Arrancar exist. Meh.)**

"I've heard a little. They're apparently Shinigami that strayed too far toward non-existence, and came back with Hollow powers. Or…something like that…"

"You have the main picture…Ishida, right?"

"Yeah." Shinji nodded.

"Alright. The only part you have wrong in your summarization is how you said, 'they come back with Hollow _powers._' That, my dear Quincy, is not true. Shinigami come back from that void with a Hollow _inside them._" Most of the group gasped, and others were a little confused.

"You mean, a Hollow that used to be its own being? How?" Rukia said, drawing blanks in Shinji's story.

"Yes, a Hollow that used to be its own being. But, a Hollow that has given up on its pathetic life. A Hollow that _doesn't_ want to be subjected to eat souls the rest of its life. Hollow like that; go into a kind of _hibernation_ state. Their bodies disappear and their minds, or souls, wander the _void_, as we've dubbed it.

"They wait there, until a Shinigami either is forced, or goes into the void willingly. The Hollow then merges with the Shinigami, and follows him or her back to the material realm, where it might continue to try and take over the Shinigami's body, if it had a lot of pride in its past life.

"Also, depending on how long the Hollow has lingered in the void, it would loose some, or all, of its memory, along with it's original form. Which is why most Inner Hollow look like it's host. Its relationship with its Shinigami will depend on if it gets them back or not. Any questions?" Shinji had to wait a few minutes, for the information to soak in, before Rukia, again, spoke up.

"What kind of relationship do they have to have for the Hollow to get its memory back?"

"Ah! I knew that would be asked! The relationship has to be one of _love._ Both inhabitants must have a lot of feelings for each other and be in an intimate relationship. And _yes_, Hollow can feel emotion." He said, as a few hands rose. "This relationship hasn't happened in our history yet, though, so we never found out how it is pulled off. Shame. Any more questions?" Orihime timidly spoke up.

"Um…then…how would the…uh…Arrancar be made?"

"Ah, unexpected, but I _do_ have the answer to that! If a Shinigami is pulled into the void, but no Hollow merge with him or her, then they are left to linger there as well, and the exit closes. Then, a force can pull them from the void, and attach their souls to a Hollow. This process, unlike the one for a Vizard, cannot be done naturally. This was what the device Kisuke-kun made was for." Some of the Vizard's guest nodded in thought, finally starting to get it, and others just didn't really care. (_Cough_-Renji-Ikkaku-_cough_)

"Good, now that we're all caught up, time to begin our preparations."

* * *

(1) Ichigo gained _a lot_ of power and stuff...you know...to defeat Aizen. His new abilities (that are completely made up) will come up later in the story.

Yeah…I _think_ the next chapter will be mostly centered on Shinzo and Ichigo. I haven't got enough of them in here even though the story is _about_ them. Grr.

Plus, I need them in some kind of dire situation that they _might_ need to be rescued from. So…yeah…that's coming next chapter as well…

Didn't get much of the other Vizard in here either. Mashiro didn't show _once!_ Ugh! Sorry if unsatisfied, and my eternal gratitude to those who are!

And THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!! Probably the only reason I didn't stop this story yet. Hehehe.

**Oh, and feel free to tell me if anyone's out of character. Sometimes when I get to writing, I just write. No thought at all. I'll go back and make corrections as need be if anyone does find something.**


	9. Chapter 9 Rating M!

Grimmjow- Ya know, I didn't come up much in the last chapter…

Me- I know I know! I didn't like it either! But I thought you'd forgive me since you got to be threatening!

Grimmjow- That was fun…even though I had to be close to that Szayel creep. Fucking freaks me out, I swear.

Szayel- Why, thank you Grimmjow-san! I do try my best! Finally getting some recognition!

.: Grimmjow jumps behind me as Szayel tries to hug him :.

Grimmjow- STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU FREAK!!

Ichigo and Shinzo- CUDDLING!! SHUT UP!!

Silence…

* * *

**_IMPORTANT!_**

**_IMPORTANT!_**

**_IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! RATING CHANGED TO 'M'. BIG THANKS TO KIVAEMBER!! MAJOR YAOI!! DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ!_**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Shinzo moaned, rolling over onto his side as his pale brows creased, heavy pants slipping past parted lips as phantom images of his King writhing and gasping his name out with desperation, those slim fingers digging into his shoulders, flashed across his mind. "M…King…" He purred, curling up in contentment as he could almost feel the substitute Shinigami's sweat slicked skin under his fingers.

But a niggling feeling was poking rather insistently at his subconscious, prodding him from his pleasant doze into the much hated realm of the living (relatively speaking of course). Shinzo grumbled, the dream starting to slip away as he became more aware that there was no Ichigo under him, no carnal activities going on, and that he was fully dressed, curled up on the bed, all alone.

Wait a second! A bed!? Alone!?

Shinzo's inverted eyes snapped open, the albino flailing a little as he leapt up onto his feet. Stumbling at the minor head rush, he frowned at his unfamiliar surroundings. Didn't they fall asleep in a desert? Since when was there dull grey walls surrounding him? His frown deepened when he glanced around, the only furniture aside from the bed was a desk and drawer, a nondescript door wedged in the corner.

Tch. How bland. At least King's hair would liven it up.

His brain kicked into high gear then, frantically pointing out that there was no King in the general vicinity. With a distressed growl, he looked around wildly, finally pivoting on his heel and blinking in confusion at what he saw.

A fucking mirror.

Shinzo deadpanned, rolling his eyes. Was the owner of this room vain or what to have a huge fucking mirror taking up an entire wall to preen in? Snorting, he examined the mirror in amusement. It reflected the room perfectly, aside from the orange fuzz from the person lying on the bed's reflection.

A few seconds later, Shinzo belatedly recognized the 'orange fuzz haired person' as his missing King.

"King!" He bounded over to the window, planting his hands flat against the smooth pane of glass and shouting again. "'Ey! King! Can ya 'ear me!? King! KING!" With a growl, he clenched his hands into fists, pounding on the mirror in a futile attempt to rouse his King from unconsciousness. "WAKE TH' FUCK UP!!"

He slammed the mirror once more, panting slightly as he squinted at the glass. Was it soundproof? A soundproof mirror? Or was it even mirror? Shinzo huffed, thumping the mirror half heartedly. Who gave a damn? All that mattered was that his King was on the other side of this mirror and inaccessible. With a thoughtful frown, the albino briefly wondered if throwing the dresser would be able to break it…

Shinzo's contemplation over furniture turned battering rams was cut short when his King shifted, the redheaded form sitting up slowly with one hand rubbing a bronze eyes cutely. The albino almost 'aw'ed at that, but he was bitch-slapped by his pride and ordered to 'stop giving him doe eyes and get his attention god dammit'! "Uh…King! KING! Can ya 'ear me!?"

Apparently not, as Ichigo completely ignored his shouts. The teen turned his head in the wrong direction to stare at the same, bland grey walls and nondescript furniture and door in his room. Shinzo resisted the urge to face palm as the redhead pushed up from his bed and wandered around the room, opening and closing the door situated in it.

"Dear God, King, yer such an' idiot sometimes." Shinzo snickered in exasperation as his King stared at the wall opposite of the mirror. The albino pulled a face at the redhead's back before tapping an absent tune on the mirror, waiting (im)patiently for his King to turn.

After half a minute, Ichigo finally turned, confused brown eyes locking onto mildly amused gold.

There was a brief moment where the two just stared at each other; Ichigo standing in the middle of his room with a cute, confused frown on his face and Shinzo leaning on the mirror, coyly tracing a pattern on the smooth surface with a lopsided smirk in place. The albino lifted a pale hand lazily in greeting. "Finally up, eh Sleepin' Beauty?"

Ichigo's confused look deepened even more. The redhead's lips moved silently, and Shinzo sighed. So the mirror was soundproofed. Joy. Utilizing his skills at lip reading that he had learned out of pure boredom, the albino translated the sentence easily. "I haven' go' a clue wha's goin' on, King."

Ichigo squinted, something that made Shinzo's eyebrow twitch irritably (seriously, why do people do that?) and mouthed 'what?' The albino rolled his eyes and repeated his sentence, slower that time and was satisfied when his King nodded in understanding.

Sighing, Ichigo walked up to the mirror and pressed his hand against the glass where his inner Hollow's was. 'Can you break it?' The redhead mouthed, frowning when the albino shook his head. "Just great." He muttered to himself. "Fucking fantastic."

Shinzo snickered, golden eyes slipping half closed as he tapped his long index finger against the glass. "Ya" He paused, an odd look flitting across his face as he felt something brush against his senses. What…was that? He focused on the presence…s, their seething sick aura coming closer to their location. His other hand went back unconsciously for Zangetsu, fingers clenching thin air. A soft curse slipped past his lips.

Ichigo looked at his inner Hollow in concern. "Shinzo? What is it?"

Shinzo narrowed his eyes. "I'm no' sure." He muttered, turning away slightly to scan his room as the two noxious auras was practically upon them. He bristled when a door appeared out of nowhere, gold rimmed and ornate, and creaked open. The albino turned round fully, shifting his body so he was blocking Ichigo from view, much to the redhead's irritation.

"Shinzo? What? What is it!? What the hell is going on over there!?"

Shinzo's attention, however, was drawn to the two figures that entered the room through the newly sprung door. The Hollow's first thought was: 'Whoa, it's Godzilla's kids', followed by, 'what the fuck are they!?'

They were lithe, inhumanly slender reptilian bodies, bipedal with skeletal wings clamped firmly against their sides. Their variegated scales shimmered fluidly, bone white masks drawn to the sides of their skulls and eerie silver eyes snapping instantly to the albino Hollow standing protectively before the redhead. Low hissing noises rumbled in the creature on the left's throat, its mask a stylized, grinning weasel. _**"The intruders that were captured should not even be in this world, should they not?"**_

Shinzo's brows creased, golden eyes snapping between the two conversing creatures. Annoyance flared at the fact that they were deliberately ignoring him, wondering all the while how to kill them with the absence of Zangetsu. "Hey…"

**_"No. According to our data, the one in the accompanying cell belongs in the Material Realm."_** The creature on the right answered, trace of disgust in its baritone hiss. It jerked its head at the albino, its snarling stylized wolf mask accentuating the revulsion in its gleaming silver eyes. **_"The one here, however, shouldn't even be of any realm. It is presumably part of the other's consciousness."_**

**_"Hey!"_** Shinzo snapped. **_"Don' talk 'bout me like I ain't 'ere, ya fugly bastard!"_** The two creatures reared back, startled looks flashing in their eyes. **_"Now tell me, who or wha' th' fuck are ya an' where are we!?"_**

The two creatures looked at each other, the wolf mask jerking his head pointedly. The weasel mask snapped its reptilian jaws but turned to the irate albino, silver eyes squinted curiously in a fashion that reminded Shinzo too much about an interested Kurotsuchi. **_"Speak your name and make clear to us as to how you know our language."_**

The albino narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Language? What, haven't these weirdoes heard of Japan?**_ "Wha? Ya retarded or somethin'? Th' name's Hibiki Shinzo. Ya gonna answer my question or wha', fugly bastard number 1?"_**

The weasel masked creature tilted its head, wings twitching. **_"Interesting…the prisoner doesn't even have his name. Memory loss, perhaps?"_**

Shinzo was getting more confused. Didn't he just give out his name?

**_"It could be. The only way he could have our language is if he dons one of our names. If we keep him alive, he might remember it."_** The wolf masked creature muttered. It peered past Shinzo's tensed form and snorted. **_"The other is of no use to us."_**

Molten rage erupted in the albino's chest at the insinuation. **_"YA KILL 'IM AN' I DIE AS WELL!"_** He roared, pressing his back against the glass to try and block more of Ichigo from view. He could feel the faint vibrations of his King pounding the mirror, but he didn't dare take his eyes off these fugly bastards for a second.

The weasel masked creature pawed the ground with its clawed foot. **_"What exactly is your relation to the other one?"_** It stepped forward, the albino able to see the desire for knowledge lurking in silver irises. Yep. Definitely a Kurotsuchi clone.

Shinzo snorted angrily. **_"I'll tell ya if ya tell me why we're 'ere."_**

**_"You were trespassing on our lands."_** The wolf masked one growled. **_"And that alone is enough reason to imprison you."_** Its growls increased when the albino scoffed at him, muscles under variegated scales flexing warningly. The weasel masked one placed a clawed hand on the wolf masked one's shoulder with a pointed look.

The weasel masked one turned back to the Hollow. **_"Are you going to answer our question now?"_**

Shinzo glanced between them, speaking slow and deliberate as he pulled an excuse directly out of his metaphoric ass. **_"I'm 'is inner Hollow. I…resided in 'is soul until recently, but, I, uh, can't be apart from 'im fer too long, 'cause, uh…it'll…drain my strength (yeah, that works)! Even bein' in separate rooms is enough t' weaken me, an' if ya wanna learn more 'bout me, I ain't much use dead, eh?"_**

Shinzo mentally crossed his fingers as the two creatures muttered to each other in low tones, shooting occasional looks at the albino. Finally the wolf masked one snorted irritably and stepped back with a sullen air about him. The weasel masked one turned back to the Hollow. **_"It wouldn't matter either way, we will allow it."_** It snapped its claws together, a high pitched crack resounding throughout the room.

Shinzo grunted when a warm body landed heavily against his back and caused him to stumble forward. In the distraction, the two creatures managed to slip away unnoticed, the door vanishing with them much to Shinzo's chagrin.

"What the hell, Shinzo!?" Ichigo barked, turning his inner Hollow round. "Who were they? Did they tell you where we are? What did you say to them? Wh-" He was cut off when Shinzo pressed the palm of his hand against the teen's mouth, muffling anymore questions.

Shinzo checked that the unnatural presences (because nothing that sickly feeling could be natural) were gone, or at least far away before answering his King's questions. "Calm, King." He soothed. "They didn' say who they were, bu' we were captured fer trespassin' or some messed up reason like tha'. They were weird too, talkin' 'bout languages an' names or somethin'…" The albino shook his head. "They wanted t' kill ya, bu' I managed t' talk 'em out o' it."

Ichigo blinked, the anger ebbing from brown irises. He pulled the albino's pale hand from his mouth, looking down slightly. "So…what deal did you make with them then?"

Shinzo huffed. "Wha' makes ya think I made a deal with those fugly bastards? I jus' used my charm an' intelligence t' talk 'em out o' it." He grinned lightly at the suspicious look in bronze eyes and moved his hand to cup the redhead's cheek, rubbing the pad of his thumb along smooth skin. "Ya don' think I'd serve anyone else, eh?"

Ichigo scowled, twisting his face away from the albino's soothing hand. "Well, got any bright ideas to get us out of here?"

Shinzo frowned in mock thought before giving his customary shit eating grin. "Nope. Bu' I got an' idea on how t' pass th' time." He placed his hands on the teen's hips, leaning down to brush pale lips against Ichigo's earlobe. "Wanna hear it?"

Ichigo shivered involuntarily, his breath hitching in his throat. "Now isn't the time for that, Shinzo! We're in a serious situation here, we can't fuck around!" His voice wavered when cool lips slid softly along his stubborn jaw line, inhaling sharply. "S-Shinzo…"

Shinzo purred against his King's jaw. "We can't do much righ' now, so we migh' as well enjoy our time 'ere." Moving his left hand, he hooked two fingers in the knot of the redhead's white obi and tugged him forward, the other arm winding round the trim waist. "I promise I won' do anythin' ya don' like." He whispered breathlessly, placing butterfly kisses from his King's jaw line to the corner of his mouth.

"Unn…" Ichigo flinched slightly, confusion and desire stirring in brown eyes. "We…should really try to…to find a way out…" He murmured, almost purring at the wonderful sensations lighting his nerves as pale lips brushed against his skin. It was perfect…but this truly wasn't the time for…this… "M…"

Shinzo could feel his breaths quicken, cheeks warming as he kissed every inch of the teen's face, but deliberately avoided those parted, pink lips. Ichigo had been the one shying away in this relationship, and Shinzo wanted the substitute Shinigami to beg for it. "There's no door… 'cept tha' one which prob'ly doesn' lead anywhere…" The albino muttered, kisses drawing to the teen's jugular. "Let's jus' go with th' flow."

Shinzo supposed it was good luck that Ichigo seemed so tired and sluggish, as the redhead only gave another weak protest while he was subtly herded towards the bed, craning his head back to allow the albino more access to his neck. "Shinzo…" The redhead groaned, though whether it was a reprimand or an invitation to continue, it wasn't clear – though Shinzo liked to think it was the latter.

Ichigo yelped in surprise when he was push back against the bed (when did they reach it!?), his inner Hollow looming over him with a wicked smile promising that Shinzo wanted to play…and not in the innocent way either. Though he would later deny it, at that moment a thrill of anticipation shuddered through his body at the implications that smile was portraying. "S-Shinzo!"

"Hm?" Shinzo leant down, running his azure tongue up the column of the teen's throat, smile widening into a grin as he saw his King's Adam's apple bob nervously. Licking his lips as he pulled back slightly, he slipped his hands into Ichigo's black haori, skimming pale fingertips over the trembling torso with deliberate slowness. He was still waiting for the begging, and by the way harsh pants were tearing themselves from his King's throat, crimson flush painted delicately across tanned cheeks, it was very close.

"Haa…" Ichigo's eyes fluttered close, body involuntarily arching upwards to the light touches. His common senses screeches at him to push the Hollow away and find a way out of this place was quickly becoming an irritating murmur in the back of his mind, hormones liberating his brain for the time being. "Shin…zo…"

With a burst of impatience, Shinzo latched onto the redhead's neck with his sharp canines, biting down and sucking the sensitive skin. He could taste a hint of copper swamp his tongue, the blue muscle digging into the shallow wound as the surrounding flesh darkened into a bruise. Feeling Ichigo squirm against him, a soft noise escaping the redhead's throat, Shinzo moved away from the hickey, a smudge of crimson tinting the corner of his mouth as he licked his pale lips.

There. Now everyone will know his King was taken.

Intensely flustered, the dull throb distracting him momentarily about their kidnapping situation, Ichigo gasped when his inner Hollow lapped at the bite on his neck, breathless moan of the albino's name slipping unbidden from his lips. The roughness of Shinzo's tongue was like that of a cat, and only served to make the redhead shiver pleasantly from the strange sensation. "Ah…"

Seeing that his King was beginning to submit, Shinzo leant up to Ichigo's ear, purring softly into it. "D'ya want me t' kiss ya, King?" His tongue swirled inside the delicate shell of the redhead's ear, victory welling up in his chest when Ichigo whimpered out an almost inaudible 'yes'. Immediately, he moved to the substitute Shinigami's expectant lips and claimed them in a fiery kiss, his azure tongue pushing into the hot cavern eagerly.

Ichigo moaned heatedly, slim fingers gripping white tresses as they petted the silky strands erratically, back arching against the paler body when the Hollow's black fingernails scraped lightly down his stomach, faint red lines marking their path. His chest began to burn from the lack of air, but he would gladly take passing out then move away from the albino. Whenever he heard of people talking about kissing, with the tongues probing and teeth nipping, he expected some level of discomfort (come on, someone is sticking their tongue in your mouth), but this was just…just plain good.

Shinzo pulled back a mere centimeter, panting heavily as his calloused palms rubbed up his King's chest. "Fuckin' ace…" He murmured; sliding his pale lips against the redhead's slightly swollen ones once more and slowly pushed the black haori from tanned shoulders. His King was gone with the moment, protests blissfully absent as he whimpered and moaned for more, eagerly shedding his haori. Shinzo couldn't stop a grin of triumph gracing his lips.

If they were going to die here (highly unlikely, but it could happen), then he didn't want to go as a virgin – or at least get a decent grope in before they passed on, he wasn't really picky.

"Sh-Shinzo…" Ichigo moaned, twisting his head to the side as his inner Hollow turned his attention to his neck, swollen lips mouthing incoherent words. He felt Shinzo's fingers slowly untie his white obi, mind too dazed and pleasured to connect these as he obediently lifted his hips when the albino tugged his black hakama from lithe hips. "Hnn…" Brows creased briefly at the draft he could feel. "Wh…what are you…doing…?" He asked breathlessly, distracted by the faint graze of teeth along his collarbone.

Shinzo pressed a light kiss to the superficial abrasion along the teen's collarbone; finger carding through the redhead's coarse orange hair before trailing over his King's half hard length. Smirking at the shocked gasp, he took it firmly in his calloused palm and slowly stroked it gently. "Makin' ya feel good, King."

Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut against the pleasure, fingers digging into his inner Hollow's scalp as the hand hastened its ministrations, ecstasy coursing throughout his body from the intimate touches. "AAh!" Rolling his hips, his penis hardened from the attention it was garnering, swollen lips mouthing Shinzo's name wantonly. "S-Shinzo…oh…oh…" He could barely breathe, his whole body on fire from the raw pleasure.

Shinzo smeared the precum collecting from the tip of his King's dick around the head, applying slight pressure on the length and pumping faster, fingers slicking from the warm moisture. "C'mon, King…say my name…" He pressed his lips against the teen's neck, sucking on the jugular and feeling the vein's quick pulse through the sweat slicked skin. "Come fer me…"

"I…ah…" Ichigo couldn't think, let alone string words together in a coherent sentence. He whimpered desperately, squirming and bucking to the pale hand. The pressure suddenly contracted in his stomach, muscles tensing as he realized he wasn't going to last. "S-Shinzo! I…I'm gonna come!" He cried, feeling his inner Hollow's rough tongue drag up his neck to his ear. "Shinzo!!"

"Shhh…" Shinzo jerked his hand faster, pressing a light kiss to the earlobe as Ichigo's moans reached fever pitch. "It's alrigh'…come on…" He squeezed the erection pointedly, dragging an almost scream of pleasure from the substitute Shinigami. "Yer doin' great…"

Spurred by the soft encouragements whispered in his ear, and the electrifying touches on his penis, Ichigo only lasted two more strokes before coming messily in his inner Hollow's awaiting palm, a sultry moan of the albino's name mixed with a coarse swear tearing itself from his throat. His hips bucked a few times against the calloused palm to ride out his orgasm, the teen's hands moving so that his arms were wrapped tightly round Shinzo's shoulders, his face buried into the crook of the albino's neck.

The two were silent for a few minutes, Shinzo raising his hand up and licking the semen from his palm. He waited patiently for his King to gather himself and grinned in accomplishment. There, now he could die happy knowing that he was finally able to grope his King. With a snicker, he pressed a soft kiss to tousled orange hair, feeling the substitute Shinigami shift. "How was tha', King?"

Ichigo huffed, not moving his face from the crook of his Hollow's neck. "You molested me, jackass." His arms tightened their grip round broad shoulders. "Ugh…now I'm tired…"

Shinzo, licking the remaining cum from his hand, carefully laid down on the bed, wrapping an arm round the redhead's trim waist and dragging the discarded black haori over his King. "Well then sleep. I promise I won' do nothin' t' ya." He grinned proudly at his trickery.

"You mean, you promise you won't do anything to me." Ichigo corrected drowsily.

Shiro pouted. "Alrigh'. Now sleep, King. We'll figure a way outta 'ear when we wake up, 'kay?"

With a sleepy mumble, Ichigo settled more comfortably against the paler body. "M'kay…" His breaths eventually evened out into deep, slow breaths, signaling that the teen was now in lala land. Shinzo grinned affectionately, rubbing his cheek against soft vibrant orange tresses. Oh, his King was so adorable sometimes. Shinzo tightened his grip round the redhead.

And he wasn't going to allow anyone to hurt him.

* * *

**AGAIN!! HUGE HUGE HUGE THANKS TO KIVAEMBER!!**

**Sorry for the late update by the way. It was another one of those where I thought I updated it...but it turned out that I didn't...**

**I'm working on a oneshot with GrimmXIchi by the way. I am so unfaithful. Switching back and forth all the time. But I can't help it!**


	10. Announcement, SORRY!

Listen, sorry, but I'm not going to be able to post again for a while. School finals and all that crap, and lots of other stuff going on.

That and I have a pretty big case of writer's block. Even if I did squeeze in every little bit of writing time I could it wouldn't be out for a while.

So, I'll start writing again once everything cools down. I'll tell you when I figure out when that is. Hopefully before school ends in 12-ish days, but it might take that long.

Anyway, sorry times a million to all my readers, hopefully I'm one of the only ones doing this and you can find other good stories to read while I'm out.


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